Daimler has acquired a majority stake in Chauffeur Privé, a French app that provides ride hailing services in Paris, Lyon and the Côte d’Azur (via Tech.eu). The ownership stake means that Daimler now has controlling interests in a number of smaller Uber competitors, particularly operating in Europe and MENA, including MyTaxi and Careem.
The automaker also intends to complete its acquisition of Chauffeur Privé by acquiring the remaining stakes in the startup by 2019, per the report. Daimler’s mobility solutions portfolio continues to grow, through both external acquisitions of companies and through on-demand car sharing ventures including Car2Go.
Other automakers are employing a similar strategy of build/acquire/partner when it comes to developing their new business models, which increasingly focus on opportunities other than individual vehicle ownership. Daimler has been particularly aggressive in the ride hailing space, which could be a big asset should it ever wish to deploy an autonomous hailing service, as most of its rivals seem poised to do.
Terms of the deal with Chauffeur Privé have not been disclosed, but it will continue to operate post acquisition.