Daimler Mobility Services Acquires French Uber Competitor

Daimler Mobility Services — which is under the operation of Daimler Financial Services — acquired a majority stake in Chauffeur Privé, a private-hire vehicle service in France, yesterday.

Daimler Mobility Services now controls more than 50%, with the intention to fully acquire Chauffeur Privé by 2019, the company said in an announcement. Financial details were not disclosed, but Chauffeur Privé did receive a total of $5.9 million dollars in fundraising prior to its acquisition, according to Crunchbase.

The investment in Chauffeur Privé is another step in the implementation of the Daimler CASE strategy, which stand for “connected,” “autonomous,” “shared and services” and “electric.” Daimler Mobility Services bundles all services under “shared and services” — from carsharing (like Car2Go) and ride-hailing (like MyTaxi) to mobility platforms (like Moovel).

Chauffeur Privé was founded in 2011 and operates in Paris, Lyon, and at the Côte d’Azur. In France, the market of private-hire limousine services has grown significantly, from fewer than 1,000 drivers in 2011 to more than 30,000 drivers in 2017. Chauffeur Privé itself has 1.5 million customers and 18,000 drivers.