On-demand car-rental competitors ReachNow and Car2Go will soon become one and the same company.
The startups' German parent companies _ BMW and Daimler, respectively _ announced Wednesday that they would combine their "mobility services" into one entity.
That includes Seattle-based ReachNow, a service that was launched in 2016 and has 1,300 cars across Seattle, Portland and Brooklyn; and Austin, Texas-based Car2Go, founded in 2008 with 3,100 vehicles across seven U.S. cities.
ReachNow has offered the most significant competition to Car2Go since it launched two years ago. It has more than 80,000 members across its three cities. Car2Go has 499,000 U.S. members.
BMW and Daimler will each hold a 50 percent stake in the joint venture, which must be approved by European regulatory authorities.
It's unclear when things will change for the blue and white cars. Currently in Seattle, drivers can use apps to find ReachNow and Car2Go vehicles parked nearby, unlock them, drive within the city, and then leave them parked for the next customer.
The two services will operate as one in Seattle when the merger is complete, a Car2Go spokesman confirmed.
But details on what that will look like are sparse ahead of the merger's approval. In a news release issued jointly Wednesday by the companies, ReachNow and Car2Go are shown in different categories under Daimler and BMW's plans for the joint operation.
ReachNow is included in an "on-demand mobility" category, which also includes Daimler startup Moovel, a service that helps people look up the fastest way to get around cities by combining car-sharing and transit information. Car2Go is included in a "car-sharing" category, along with DriveNow, BMW's car-sharing service in Europe.
The joint venture will also include ride-hailing, parking and electric charging services.
