S-Class Sedan

Segment
Sedan

Back in 2019, BMW and Daimler made the surprise announcement the two companies were joining forces to develop automated driving technology, with the goal of launching a self-driving car loaded with Level 4 autonomous tech by 2024 that's even more advanced than the semi-autonomous technology offered in the new Mercedes S-Class and BMW iX.

Unfortunately, this partnership was short-lived. Last year, BMW and Mercedes announced the partnership was put on hold due to development costs and "current business and economic conditions." Now, another partnership between the two German automakers has been canned. In 2019, Mercedes and BMW formed the Your Now joint venture that launched car-sharing, ride-hailing, EV charging, and parking services in Europe and the US.

Mercedes and BMW have announced they are selling their park-app business Park Group to rival firm EasyPark Group based in Europe. The acquisition will enable EasyPark to expand the rollout of its digital parking services into North American market, where ParkNow is the most popular parking app with over 22 million users.

ParkNow is available in 1,100 cities in 11 countries and allows drivers to conveniently pay for parking on the street and in parking lots using their smartphone. With this service, customers can reserve, book, and pay for parking spaces in advance using an app.

EasyPark, on the other hand, offers digital parking services in more than 2,200 cities across 20 countries that helps drivers find, manage, and pay for parking and electric car charging. "We welcome EasyPark's acquisition of our joint parking services business. This is a substantial step in the ongoing evolution of these digital services and will create a sustainable momentum to the benefit of customers and of further innovation," said Rainer Feurer, Vice President of Corporate Investments at BMW.

Johan Birgersson, CEO of EasyPark Group, added: "We are pleased to welcome Park Now, its customers and the whole team to the EasyPark Group. This enables us to add value and simplify mobility in day-to-day life for more cities, parking operators and our joint users. The acquisition is strategically important in order to accelerate our long-term growth innovative capabilities."