Daimler : driver (private) rolls up in a Mercedes

Chronic. They are recognized by their red tie, we will identify may be coming soon to their Mercedes. The owner of the famous sedans German comes into effect to redeem the French start-up private Driver, main competitor of Uber in the big cities of France. Yan Hascoet, founder and CEO of the company, is to the angels. He was looking for 50 million euros to accelerate its development, particularly internationally ; he finds on his way the one of the pockets and the deepest of the German automotive industry, Daimler ag, which could in the end put it almost 200 million euros to acquire the entire company.

This will change the life of the entrepreneur, in a business where the economic model is so fragile that even the global leader, the controversial Uber does not succeed, despite its dominance, earning money with his activities. Some grumpy will still be able to regret that the French start-ups seem to have on the horizon that will sell as quickly as possible to an industrial of the ” old world “, when, in America, it is known to manufacture global giants from young shoots.

An existential challenge

But the world of urban transport has become in less than ten years such a challenge for the automotive industry it opens the portfolio. Each manufacturer must now display its ambitions in this area. General Motors and Jaguar Land Rover have invested in Lyft, the american competitor Uber, Volkswagen is a shareholder of Gett, and Renault bought Marcel, one of the rivals of private Driver in France.

Why such a deployment in a trade to the antipodes of their industrial base ? Because the behavior of their urban customers is changing. Number of users in the city say they are now ready to move out of the car if they have an offer of personal mobility attractive. It is in the process of emerging,…

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