Daimler and BMW’s new joint mobility services company will operate under the name “Jurbey” according to multiple sources familiar with joint venture plans. The two companies are expected unveil the new joint mobility services venture at the end of February. Spokespeople for the two German automakers declined to comment on the news.
The German trademark for the name “Jurbey” was registered in August by the law firm Cornelius Bartenbach Haesemann & Partner, which registered the Daimler trademark “Das Beste Oder Nichts” in 2009. The trademark filing identifies some of the services to be provided by Jurbey as:
- “Software, in particular for providing information on transportation services, for providing parking spaces for vehicles and for supplying and distributing energy”
- “Arranging of contracts for the provision of transportation services, in particular rental of vehicles, providing of sparking spaces and vehicle parking as well as travel route planning and navigation services”
- “Insurance services, in particular insurance underwriting”
- “Loan and credit financing services”
- “Petrol station services, namely, refueling, washing, cleaning, maintaining and repairing of vehicles; charging of electric vehicles and car batteries”
- “On-line access to data and application programs for the provision of transportation services and for booking transportation means, for providing parking spaces for vehicles and for the supply and distribution of energy”
The European Commission approved the merger of the Daimler and BMW mobility services on the 7th of November, detailing plans to merge the two firms existing brands in five business areas:
- Free-floating car sharing services, via DriveNow and car2go
- Ride hailing services, via mytaxi, Chauffeur Privé, Clever Taxi and Beat
- Parking services, via ParkNow and Parkmobile Group/Parkmobile
- Charging services, via ChargeNow and Digital Charging Solutions
- Other on-demand mobility services, via Moovel & ReachNow
According to the EC approval, a “sixth joint venture will manage the brands and license them out to the other five joint ventures.” According to people familiar with the joint venture plans, this sixth joint venture will use the Jurbey brand.
Daimler and BMW have announced that the new joint venture will be headquartered in Berlin, and European employees of the affected brands have been told that they will have to move to the German capitol according to a person familiar with the joint venture plans. Stuttgart and Munich offices of some affected companies were initially supposed to remain open as “satellite offices,” but are now being shut down in favor of consolidation in the new Berlin office according to multiple sources.
These plans have caused some consternation inside various Daimler and BMW mobility sub-brands, sources said. Some of that consternation has spilled out into the public, with one Stuttgart-based employee complaining about the impact of the move in a post on the German job review site Kununu. Moovel Head of People and Organization Thorstein Heilig responded by confirming management’s desire to centralize workers in the Berlin office, but said the situation was fluid and that employees would receive weekly updates on consolidation plans.
An Art Noveau department store building, “Kaufhaus Jandorf” on Brunnenstrasse in Berlin Mitte, will serve as the new integrated headquarters for Jurbey and its mobility service sub-brands sources said. Daimler spokesperson Silke Walters confirmed to Berliner Kurier that the company had secured a 30 year lease for the building and could use it for offices as well as a showcase for the company’s future mobility plans. The new office will include office space for 500 employees, according to one source. Daimler has previously used the building for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week events.
A visit to the Berlin building in November showed that it is currently undergoing extensive renovations, and a source familiar with the situation says employees of one affected brand are currently being moved into an interim office in Berlin until the new joint headquarters with other brands had completed renovations.