What's the news?
Copenhagen is the latest city to introduce the BMW i3 to its vast fleet. The car sharing company, which is a joint venture between BMW Group and Sixt SE, will see 400 BMW i3s enter service on September 3rd 2015 where the all-electric fleet will be available to users of the scheme. DriveNow already operates fleets of BMW, BMW i and MINI cars in Germany, the UK and the USA.
The choice of the i3 for this scheme is designed to help reduce emissions in cities as well as helping to reduce traffic levels. One other important factor is the i3's ability to offer intermodal routing, whereby other public transport services are incorporated into the car's navigation system. This shows drivers that using an additional form of public transport may be better to complete some of the route.
It is this added functionality that led Arriva, the largest bus operator in Denmark, to collaborate on the project to "further develop urban mobility in a customer-orientated and sustainable way", according to Dr. Bernhard Blättel, Head of BMW Group Mobility Services.
He added: "Here in Copenhagen we are now already witnessing mobility of the future. It is on-demand technology, interconnected, quiet and electric. We are pleased to be able to introduce the capabilities of the BMW i3 and our expertise in future-oriented mobility concepts here in the Danish capital."
Anything else?
Ahead of the introduction of the BMW i3 fleet, Nikolaj Wendelboe, CEO of Arriva Denmark, said: "We are proud and very happy to introduce this innovative solution to the city of Copenhagen together with our strong business partners. Furthermore, I am confident that DriveNow will prove as a unique opportunity for people to try out and enjoy the green means of transportation. This will contribute to a breakthrough for the electric cars."