DriveNow, the car sharing joint venture of the BMW Group and Sixt SE, are bringing their range of services to Helsinki. Starting May 24, 2017, operations will commence in the Finnish capital with initially 150 BMW and MINI models in a business area covering 40 square kilometers – for the second time in a franchise model.
“Launching operations in Helsinki as the twelfth DriveNow city is a significant step for us,” says DriveNow Managing Director Nico Gabriel. “After Copenhagen and Stockholm, we are augmenting the Scandinavian market to include the capital city of Finland as a further important location”.
The mobility situation in Finland has a lot of potential for car sharing.
“Helsinki is an extremely modern city that has a great interest in European lifestyle and that exhibits a strong demand for individual mobility, yet for the most part relies on a classic transportation mix,” explains Sebastian Hofelich, co-Managing Director at DriveNow. “Up to now there is no comparable car sharing concept. Our offer is therefore ideal for closing a gap in the range of mobility and also giving people an alternative to their own vehicle,” adds Hofelich.
DriveNow assigns the usage rights for national operation in Finland to OP Financial Group, the biggest financial services provider in the country. After Copenhagen, Helsinki is the second city where DriveNow will be operated within the framework of a franchise model. “With OP, we are pleased to have found a strong partner for DriveNow in Helsinki. The company fulfills all of the requirements that we expect from a franchisee,” emphasizes Gabriel, DriveNow Managing Director. As a highly successful Finnish financial service provider, OP has a high degree of market insight and penetration, is rooted in sustainability as a core value and has already established a foothold in the mobility sector.
“We are happy to announce the co-operation with DriveNow and further expand our range of mobility services. Our strategy is very future-oriented and we want to build it together with the best partners. Based on these principles we believe that DriveNow is the right car sharing service partner for us and our customers,” says Masa Peura, Director of new business areas at OP.
DriveNow will launch operations in Helsinki with an initial fleet of 150 vehicles spread over a business area of around 40 square kilometers. From the outset, the fleet will include a broad selection of BMW and MINI models – from the BMW X1 and 2 series to the MINI three- and five-door models through to the fully electric BMW i3. Customers in Finland will also have the possibility, commensurate with the start, to drive to the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport or, vice versa, rent the vehicles there. Both the fleet and business area in the Finnish capital will be expanded in future in line with demand.
