Paving the way for sustainable mobility: bp, BMW Group and Daimler Mobility announce successful closing of transaction that makes bp third shareholder of Digital Charging Solutions GmbH (DCS)

• DCS offers industry leading solutions to provide EV drivers with seamless access to more than 300,000 charging points in 30 countries.
• bp will provide DCS customers access to an additional 9,000 charging points across Europe including ultra-fast charging and together with DCS, will develop new integrated offers for fleets - including fuel and charge services
• Globally, bp aims to grow its network of public EV charging points by 2030 to over 70,000 worldwide

London/Munich/Stuttgart. bp has become the third shareholder of Digital Charging Solutions GmbH (DCS) following the successful closing of the M&A transaction. bp gained a 33.3% stake as part of a capital increase. BMW Group and Daimler Mobility AG remain shareholders owning a 33.3% stake each.

Electrification is at the heart of bp’s approach to mobility. All three shareholders of DCS share an ambition to drive electrification forward and pave the way for sustainable mobility.  bp is rapidly growing its charging businesses around the world and aims to have over 70,000 public charge points by 2030.

DCS’s services are essential for the electrification strategies of the automotive industry. The company works with premium and high volume OEMs to integrate its charging solutions into the vehicles’ operating systems and the OEMs’ digital ecosystems. Digital Charging Solutions GmbH stands behind the CHARGE NOW brand in the YOUR NOW Joint Ventures of BMW Group and Daimler Mobility AG and operates charging services such as “Mercedes me Charge”, “BMW Charging” and “MINI Charging”.

DCS already provides unrivaled access to charging infrastructure with a coverage of more than 85% in 29 European countries.

Following the successful transaction, EV drivers can look forward to enhanced coverage and charging convenience as they gain access to an additional 9,000 rapid and ultra-fast charging points (more than 150kw) through bp’s European charging network - Aral Pulse in Germany and bp pulse in the UK. Both bp and DCS will provide access to advanced charging services such as Plug & Charge which enables a seamless charging experience reducing the need for apps or charging cards – initially available on Aral Pulse ultra-fast chargers in Germany from Q1 2022.  

And to support the transition of businesses and fleets to electric mobility, business customers can expect access to a 360° solution for electric and hybrid fleets that includes new and innovative charging services beyond fueling, tolling and washing offers.

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 highly integrated with the vehicle operating system to provide a great customer experience. We're excited to have completed this transaction and look forward to working with our partners to continue to provide EV drivers with access to convenient charging where they need it.”

„We are pleased to welcome bp as a strong partner who shares our vision to push electrification. By forming this strategic collaboration with one of the biggest energy companies in the world, we will provide drivers with increasing access to a convenient and seamless charging ecosystem wherever and whenever they need it, contributing to the electric transformation of our society”," said Gero Götzenberger, Director for Strategy and Digital Mobility Solutions, Daimler Mobility AG.

“This collaboration brings our leading charging network a huge step forward. Especially the electrification of fleets and fleet management will see a comprehensive boost – we will jointly drive innovation, increase our customer focus and accelerate CO₂ reduction. We welcome bp as a strong and progressive partner”, adds Rainer Feurer, Senior Vice President of Investments at the BMW Group. 

Jörg Reimann, CEO Digital Charging Solutions GmbH: “We are really excited to have bp as strategic partner and shareholder at the same time. Our business models are highly complementary. We provide access to the largest network of charging points in Europe – now we are designing and delivering superior services for our current and future customers.”

Contacts

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

bp:

bp press office London, bppress@bp.com Switchboard: +44 (0) 207-496-4000; Tel: +44 (0) 207-496-4076 or +44 7919 217511

Digital Charging Solutions GmbH:
Meret Ginten, +49 160 967 488 79, meret.ginten@digitalchargingsolutions.com

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

This document contains forward-looking statements that reflect our current views about future events. The words “anticipate,” “assume,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” ”can,” “could,” “plan,” “project,” “should” and similar expressions are used to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to many risks and uncertainties, including an adverse development of global economic conditions, in particular a decline of demand in our most important markets; a deterioration of our refinancing possibilities on the credit and financial markets; events of force majeure including natural disasters, pandemics, acts of terrorism, political unrest, armed conflicts, industrial accidents and their effects on our sales, purchasing, production or financial services activities; changes in currency exchange rates and tariff regulations; a shift in consumer preferences towards smaller, lower-margin vehicles; a possible lack of acceptance of our products or services which limits our ability to achieve prices and adequately utilize our production capacities; price increases for fuel or raw materials; disruption of production due to shortages of materials, labor strikes or supplier insolvencies; a decline in resale prices of used vehicles; the effective implementation of cost-reduction and efficiency-optimization measures; the business outlook for companies in which we hold a significant equity interest; the successful implementation of strategic cooperations and joint ventures; changes in laws, regulations and government policies, particularly those relating to vehicle emissions, fuel economy and safety; the resolution of pending government investigations or of investigations requested by governments and the conclusion of pending or threatened future legal proceedings; and other risks and uncertainties, some of which we describe under the heading “Risk and Opportunity Report” in the current Annual Report or the current Interim Report. If any of these risks and uncertainties materializes or if the assumptions underlying any of our forward-looking statements prove to be incorrect, the actual results may be materially different from those we express or imply by such statements. We do not intend or assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements since they are based solely on the circumstances at the date of publication.

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.
www.daimler-mobility.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/daimler-mobility/mycompany/

twitter: https://twitter.com/MobilityDaimler

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
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BMWGroup
Twitter: http://twitter.com/BMWGroup
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/BMWGroupView
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmwgroup
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bmw-group/

bp

bp’s 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 a ‎strategy for delivering on that ambition. 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 9,000 charging points in Europe and its UK network bp pulse is already the most used EV charging network in the UK. 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.. 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. For more information visit bp.com.‎

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 realize their electromobility strategies, because with integrated digital solutions, the company makes charging at charging stations easy, safe and comfortable. With  more than 300,000 charging points in 30 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 brand of DCS and part of this joint venture, which aims to strengthen sustainable mobility worldwide together with the other verticals FREE NOW, SHARE NOW and REACH NOW.