BMW Group and Daimler Mobility join forces with bp as a partner for Digital Charging Solutions GmbH, to further accelerate the growth of electrification

London/Munich/Stuttgart – bp agreed to join BMW Group and Daimler Mobility AG in their drive to extend and significantly improve electrification, making electric vehicle charging more convenient, simpler and seamless for drivers.

Under their agreement, bp will become a 33.3% partner alongside BMW Group and Daimler Mobility AG in Digital Charging Solutions GmbH (DCS), one of Europe’s leading developers of digital charging solutions for automotive manufacturers and vehicle fleet operators. bp’s acquisition of the stake in DCS will be subject to regulatory approval. The terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

DCS’s services are important for the electrification strategies of the automotive industry. The company works with OEMs to integrate its charging solutions into vehicle operating systems, offering Plug & Charge for vehicle and charger to communicate seamlessly without the need for additional customer authentication. For example, DCS already operates "Mercedes me Charge", "BMW Charging" and "MINI Charging" services. 

DCS already offers access to 228,000 charging points in 32 countries giving OEMs, fleet customers and EV drivers extensive access to charging infrastructure across Europe. 

This collaboration allows additional access to a growing network of chargers across Europe

As part of the agreement, bp’s European charging networks will be integrated into the DCS’s software system as well as Fuel & Charge for fleet customers, as a first step. Electrification is at the heart of bp’s convenience and mobility strategy and the company aims to grow its network of public EV charging points by 2030 to over 70,000  worldwide. They currently have around 8,700 charging points in Europe and its UK network bp pulse is already the most used EV charging network in the UK¹. The company is also rapidly growing its network of ultra-fast chargers and plans to have around 250 ultra-fast chargers operating at bp retail sites in the UK and 500 ultra-fast charging points across its Aral retail sites in Germany by year end.   DCS customers will gain access to these additional charging points and bp will gain access to a wider customer base.

Richard Bartlett, bp senior vice president, future mobility & solutions, said: “Our aim is to make charging as convenient as refuelling at the pump – fast, reliable and a great customer experience. Joining forces with BMW Group and Daimler Mobility AG in DCS, combined with the expansion of our ultra-fast charging network, will help provide drivers access to convenient charging where they need it. It also gives us access to a much wider customer base, ultimately driving up utilisation rates on our network.”

“Together with the BMW Group, we are consistently driving forward the transition to electric mobility. With bp, we are gaining a strategic partner who will help us to further strengthen the customer offering of DCS. bp’s large network of retail sites offers ideal conditions for the expansion of charging infrastructure – precisely where customers of electric vehicles need and expect them. We also see great potential in combining tank and charging solutions for the growing customer group of plug-in hybrids. bp’s commitment will help DCS accelerate the implementation of its ambitious plans," says Stephan Unger, chief financial officer of Daimler Mobility AG, responsible for finance and controlling, risk management and digital mobility solutions.

“A sufficient charging infrastructure is key to wider acceptance of electrification. With bp, the BMW Group and Daimler Mobility AG have on board a partner who offers a strong brand and customer focus with an extensive European ultra-fast charging network, as well as retail sites. We strongly support an open and full-coverage charging network, as this is a clear benefit for our customers,” adds Rainer Feurer, senior vice president of investments at the BMW Group. 

“Our cooperation with bp opens up completely new possibilities for expanding our product portfolio making charging even more comfortable for our customers. We know that combined charging and fuelling offers are pivotal for our fleet customers. We look forward to adding bp’s retail sites to our network and being able to jointly create innovative integrated services,” adds Jörg Reimann, CEO of Digital Charging Solutions GmbH.

This collaboration will help to get more EVs on the roads and, ultimately, help move towards more sustainable mobility.

¹The Zap-Map database includes charge point data on c.95% of UK public charge points and records live charging sessions on approximately 70% of these charge points. From these live charging points on the Zap-Map database, in Q3 2020, bp pulse recorded the largest number of charging sessions and the largest aggregate charging minutes. Zap-Map cannot guarantee that all the charging sessions from all the live networks have been recorded as from time to time network connections fail which may result in charging sessions not being recorded.

Further information

Contacts

BP press office, London: +44 7831 , 095541, +44 7919 217511 bppress@bp.com

Daimler Mobility AG: Michael Kuhn, +49 160 861 4768, michael.m.kuhn@daimler.com 

BMW Group: Dr. Britta Ullrich, +49 151 601 18 364, britta.ullrich@bmw.de

Digital Charging Solutions GmbH: Gina Klute, +49 151 605 249 43, gina.klute@digitalchargingsolutions.com

About bp

bp is an integrated energy company with operations in Europe, North and South America, Australasia, Asia and Africa. Its purpose is to reimagine energy for people and our planet. It has set out an ambition to
be a net ‎zero company by 2050, or sooner, and help the world get to net zero, and recently announced its ‎strategy for delivering on that ambition.

Its customer and products division has over 20,000 branded retail sites in 21 countries and more than 11.5 million customer touchpoints per day.

About Digital Charging Solutions GmbH

Digital Charging Solutions GmbH (DCS) develops charging solutions for automobile manufacturers and fleet operators, making it one of the world’s most important drivers of the transition to electromobility. The full-service white label solutions of DCS allow OEMs and fleet operators to realise their electromobility strategies, because with integrated digital solutions, the company makes charging at charging stations easy, safe and comfortable. With 228,000 charging points in 32 markets and cross-border charging, Digital Charging Solutions GmbH offers access to the largest charging network in Europe. Since the beginning of 2019, Digital Charging Solutions GmbH has been part of the mobility joint venture between the BMW Group and Daimler AG. CHARGE NOW is a service of DCS and part of this joint venture, which aims to strengthen sustainable mobility worldwide together with the other verticals REACH NOW, FREE NOW, PARK NOW and SHARE NOW.

Daimler Mobility at a Glance

In addition to Mercedes-Benz AG and Daimler Truck AG, Daimler Mobility AG is one of the three business divisions of Daimler AG. It has about 11,650 employees and specializes in financial and mobility solutions. Its products range from leasing, financing, and insurance products to innovative fleet management systems and app-based mobility services. As a financial services provider, the business division supports the sales of the Daimler Group’s automotive brands worldwide. In Germany, Mercedes-Benz Bank AG, part of the Daimler Mobility division, is one of the country’s leading automotive banks. It provides around one million customers with financial leeway as well as call-money and fixed-interest-rate accounts in the direct banking business. The product range is supplemented by flexible mobility services such as Mercedes-Benz Rent and EQ subscriptions, which enable an uncomplicated and flexible entry into electro mobility. Through its subsidiary Athlon, Daimler Mobility is represented in the commercial fleet management segment as well as in vehicle leasing in Europe. The company manages more than 400,000 vehicles in total. As a strategic investor, Daimler Mobility also participates in the business potential of digital mobility solutions through its holdings. The focus is on its involvement in the YOUR NOW joint ventures, which are grouped into three pillars: FREE NOW & REACH NOW, SHARE NOW, and PARK NOW & CHARGE NOW. These pillars combine ride-hailing, carsharing, and parking services with multimodal platforms and the charging of electric vehicles. Daimler Mobility’s portfolio also contains holdings in the limousine ride-hailing service StarRides in China and the chauffeur and concierge service provider Blacklane. In 2020, Daimler Mobility financed or leased around 50 percent of the vehicles sold by Daimler worldwide. This corresponds to a contract volume of €150.6 billion. In 2020, the business division generated revenue of €27.7 billion and achieved EBIT of €1.4 billion. Daimler Mobility operates in 39 countries.

Further information from Daimler is available at: www.media.daimler.com and www.daimler.com.

The BMW Group

With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility
services. The BMW Group production network comprises 31 production and assembly facilities in 15 countries; the company has a global sales network in more than 140 countries. In 2020, the BMW Group sold over 2.3 million passenger vehicles and more than 169,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax in the financial year 2020 was € 5.222 billion on revenues amounting to € 98.990 billion. As of 31 December 2020, the BMW Group had a workforce of 120,726 employees. The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company set the course for the future at an early stage and consistently makes sustainability and efficient resource management central to its strategic direction, from the supply chain through production to the end of the use phase of all products.

www.bmwgroup.com

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