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BMW, Sixt carsharing making money most places

The DriveNow carsharing service, which is a partnership between BMW and Sixt, is growing quite rapidly. "We've been surprised about the explosion of new subscriptions, which has helped boost revenue," says Sixt CEO Erich Sixt. The number of DriveNow users has increased from 215,000 at the end of last year to 300,000 today. Sixt says that DriveNow has been profitable in cities in which it has been established for over a year. Perhaps encouraged by its unexpected success, DriveNow is set to expand even further. The service is currently available in five German cities, as well as in San Francisco, California, and the involved parties are considering a five-year plan to expand to 25 more cities in Europe and the US. Still, Sixt expects DriveNow to report a "small-to-medium, single-digit" loss for this year, according to Sixt CFO Julian zu Putlitz. It's no big deal, just the result of startup costs in new areas. Sixt, which is Germany's largest car rental company, also reported that its own second-quarter income rose 12 percent to $37.7 million, while sales rose 7.6 percent to $585.78 million. DriveNow uses a membership and pay-per-minute model that allows customers to rent BMW and Mini vehicles as they need them. The service also acts as a way to let potential customers try out the vehicles and familiarize themselves with the brands before they buy cars of their own at some point. Depending on the location, DriveNow's fleet includes the BMW 1 Series, ActiveE and X1, as well as several Mini vehicles like the Cooper, Clubman and Countryman. Featured Gallery 2012 BMW ActiveE: First Drive View 31 Photos News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Copyright 2014 AOL Green BMW MINI car sharing profit revenue drivenow sixt

2015 Dinan M235i First Drive

The first rule you learn about playing hide-and-seek is to wait until the seeker is out of sight before you move on to your next position. That feeling comes back to us as we're sitting in the Dinan-tuned 2015 BMW M235i on the twisty stretch of Route 152 near Gilroy, CA. Construction restricts the road to one lane before opening up to five miles of uninterrupted switchbacks. A local tipped us off to pull over and wait for traffic to clear, guaranteeing an open road and no risk of law enforcement seeking us out. Our first turn behind the wheel of the Dinan M235i started just a few miles north at the tuner's engineering and development center, located in an unassuming office park south of San Jose. Dinan conversions are known for being simultaneously subtle and awesome; an enhancement of products that already stand out in their respective classes. Dinan obtains its R&D cars through consumer channels, unlike some tuners that get early access to BMW's engineering for their own development projects. The development process is "reverse engineering," as technical director Casper van der Schoot describes it. Some development cars also come to Dinan through the generosity of its owner fan base. Customers hand over personal vehicles in exchange for discounted products. An M2 is already on order, and the Dinan engineers are on the edge of their seats waiting to take it apart. The Dinan treatment of the M235i increases performance without reinventing the dynamically sound package. As with other Dinan cars, the treatment on the M235i increases performance without reinventing the dynamically sound package. Approved dealers can install the Dinan parts, as can "anyone with a modest amount of technical aptitude," according to van de Schoot. Dinan's approach is to extract more of the best aspects of BMW products before supplanting stock parts with its own. That's why the M235i, like all Dinan products, comes with the eponymous Dinantronics engine control unit that remaps and finds more power from the stock inline-six-cylinder engine. A bespoke carbon-fiber cold air intake and stainless steel free-flow exhaust system add at least 15 more horsepower. The most significant alterations in the M235i's engine bay are a Dinan-rebuilt turbocharger and larger intercooler, which help increase total output beyond 440 horsepower. At this point you might wonder if all this untapped capacity is at BMW's disposal from the start, why does it take Dinan to release it?

BMW i gets in on ridesharing with Scoop investment

The ridesharing investments are starting to roll in quickly now, and BMW i Ventures is the latest to drop some cash to get in on the trend. The automaker's venture-capital arm put an undisclosed amount of money into Scoop, a ridesharing platform based in California and operating in the Bay Area. BMW i's investment in Scoop Technologies is part of a $5.1 million seed round that included several other firms. It follows news that VW put $300 million into a service called GETT and that Toyota has partnered with Uber for ridesharing and leasing. There's also GM's $500 million investment in Lyft and its own car-sharing service, Maven. Automakers may soon run out of startups to pump money into. Oh, and don't forget about Apple's billion-dollar investment in Didi Chuxing, the Chinese Uber. Scoop's app is designed to let commuters find each other and drive together to reduce traffic, something the Bay Area and California in general can benefit from; then there's the added bonus that packing more people into a car unlocks access to the carpool lane. Scoop also partners with employers, like Cisco, to help people that are all going to the same place get to and from work. Employers can subsidize the cost of the rides as a perk and to encourage the app's use. And because plans can change, there's a ride-home guarantee that will reimburse you for costs getting home if you find yourself stranded. The service launched in 2015 in Pleasanton, CA, and is still in a limited rollout that includes San Francisco, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, and North San Jose. It's not clear how or if BMW i will integrate the tech into its vehicles. This could just be an investment to get a foothold into a young ridesharing company, or it could be a sign that BMW wants to build the app's functionality into i cars. Related Video: