BMW and Daimler are pressing ahead with plans to merge their mobility services – which could be headquartered in Berlin.

The joint venture will cover five areas, including multimodal and on-demand mobility through Daimler’s moovel and BMW’s ReachNow services

The two firms announced in spring 2018 that they were combining their mobility offerings in a deal that will bring fleets a single source for everything from ride-hailing to EV charging.

The merger will provide the carmakers with a solution to compete with established mobility giants such as Uber and Lyft while retaining their competitive stances in vehicle manufacturing.

Now, the firms have announced plans to headquarter the equally-owned joint venture in the German capital as they also officially filed the transaction with the European Commission.

BMW and Daimler said Berlin was chosen as a deliberate move to establish the JV outside of the groups’ respective home cities while also positioning it for global success.

“Our vision is to create a major global player for seamless and intelligent connected mobility services together. As a hub for creativity and innovation, Berlin is exactly the right location for our plans,” said Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars.

Harald Krüger, chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, added: “The future of mobility is being shaped in major cities like Berlin. With the ecosystem we are planning, we will create solutions for tomorrow’s urban mobility: intelligent, seamlessly connected and available at the tap of a finger. We believe this will improve quality of life in major cities.”

The companies have also submitted an application for permission to consolidate both their existing mobility services to the European Commission. The transaction has already been filed with the responsible authorities in a number of different countries and, in some cases, has already been approved, according to BMW and Daimler.

The joint venture will cover five areas, including multimodal and on-demand mobility through Daimler’s moovel and BMW’s ReachNow services, which offered connected mobility solutions including booking and payment.

The tie-up will also see the carmakers merge their Car2Go and DriveNow car sharing solutions and will cover ride-hailing through Daimler’s current mytaxi, Clever Taxi and Beat and Chauffeur Privé services.

Digital parking services will also feature, including help finding, reserving and paying for off-street parking in a garage, building on the solutions currently offered by BMW’s ParkNow and Parkmobile Group/Parkmobile businesses.

The agreement will also support the expansion of electromobility through charging solutions offered through the BMW ChargeNow and Digital Charging Solutions subsidiaries.