The European Commission has approved the merger of BMW Group and Daimler AG’s mobility services business units, subject to conditions.

The deal will see the two rival manufacturers bring together services in five areas (on-demand mobility, car sharing, ride-hailing, parking and charging) in a 50:50 joint venture, with the aim of becoming a “leading provider” in the mobility market.

However, Fleet News understands that they will not begin merging their mobility services until the deal has also been approved by the anti-trust authorities in North America.

The new venture will give BMW and Daimler scale, enabling them to take on the likes of Uber and Lyft. It will include the merger of BMW’s DriveNow, which recently expanded in London, and Daimler’s car2go.

Harald Kruger, chairman of the board of management of BMW AG, said that it “sends a strong signal to our new competitors”.

Bodo Uebber, member of the board of management of Daimler AG, added: “The sustainable mobility of tomorrow is flexible and connected – a vision we share with our partner, the BMW Group.

“Together, we can offer millions of customers highly-attractive products and services to make their lives easier and their environment a better place to live.”

BMW and Daimler remain competitors in their respective core businesses.

• To find out more about the joint venture, read an exclusive interview with Tony Douglas, BMW’s head of brand for mobility services, in the November 15 issue of Fleet News.