The German premium automaker's mobility service entered Asian markets with its debut in Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province, on Friday.

ReachNow has joined hands with EVCard, a Shanghai-based electric car-sharing company, to provide the station-based premium electric car-sharing mobility service ReachNow Powered by EVCard.

The debut of ReachNow in Asia is in line with the BMW Group's ACES strategy - autonomous, connected, electrified, services and shared. ReachNow Powered by EVCard provides a new and innovative individual mobility solution to Chinese customers at the price of 2 yuan (25 cents) per minute. Daily and weekend packages are also available, with 100 units of the electric BMW i3.

"The launch of ReachNow in China reflects BMW Group's vision for future mobility," said Bernhard Blaettel, vice-president of mobility and energy services at BMW Group.

"China and Chinese customers are playing a crucial role in the transformation of mobility. Together with our local partners, we aim to bring our worldwide experience in mobility services to this market, and strive to meet the ever-increasing demand from Chinese customers for convenient and sustainable mobility with our premium cars and services," he said.

The program will offer customers in Chengdu a high-end, intelligent and flexible on-demand mobility experience, and it represents a new milestone within the BMW Group's mobility services strategy.

"Chengdu is a great city that met our requirements for the launch of the service. We found the sharing business model is popular here, and Chengdu people enjoy a dynamic lifestyle and like to try new things," Blaettel told China Daily.

The combination of EVCard's mobile app with BMW Group's advanced car-sharing technology offers users car-use without a key, including car reservation, pick up, drop of, start and stop the engine, and payment. A 24-hour customer service hotline is available to support users in case of any questions.

Blaettel said: "We are providing premium cars with quality services to young customers who want clean and reliable cars in good condition. The BMW i3 cars are fun to drive, and they will empower customers with the use of a premium car without ownership."

The company believes this perfect combination of electric mobility and car-sharing will contribute to a sustainable and low-carbon lifestyle in urban areas of China.

By 2018, 25 stations will be available in Chengdu, which will be located around high-end areas such as premium residential and commercial areas, office buildings hosting large companies, government compounds and five-star hotels. Users will need to pick up and drop of the cars within the stations.

As a global leader in innovative mobility, BMW has gained rich experience in the operation of mobility services in Europe and the United States. In 2011, the BMW Group launched its first car-sharing service in Europe in partnership with the car rental company Sixt under the brand DriveNow.

The service is now active in 13 European cities with more than one million registered users and over 6,500 BMW and Mini vehicles in operation.

Based on this successful model, the BMW Group launched in April 2016 an enhanced car-sharing service in the US under the ReachNow brand, providing users with various individual mobility services such as car-sharing, driver services, long-term car rental including delivery of car, etc. EVCard, is a leading electric car-sharing service provider in China under Global Car-Sharing& Rental Co. Combining its local perspective and expertise in electric car-sharing with BMW's global experience, the BMW Group will be able to better fulfill Chinese customer's diverse and individual mobility needs.

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(China Daily 12/04/2017 page7)