BMW expands into Uber

A WEEK after announcing a deal to supply a fleet of 80 5 Series sedans to Victoria Police, BMW Group Australia has gone public with a deal to provide 3 Series cars to Uber drivers via car rental company Atlas Rideshare.

So far, the Atlas-Uber deal is for just six cars delivered on September 18, but BMW says the arrangement is expected to be just the start, with more sales in the pipeline over the next year.

These fleet sales come as BMW tries to expand its footprint beyond traditional luxury buyers as sales of the Munich company’s vehicles struggle in Australia.

So far this year, overall BMW sales are down 15.5 per cent, with all but two of its nameplates – the new 5 Series and updated i3 – in the red.

Its one-time best seller, the 3 Series, is down almost 40 per cent this year, achieving 1865 sales to the end of August compared with arch rival Mercedes-Benz’s C-Class’s 5643 sales (+28.5 per cent).

The Atlas deal means BMW cars will be available for rent to qualified Uber drivers under the UberX and UberSelect banners.

Atlas Ridesharing is said to be one of the biggest providers of cars to Uber drivers in Australia.

BMW Group Australia CEO Marc Werner described deal as a key step towards BMW’s commitment to future mobility services in Australia.

“We see many examples of these partnerships in Europe and the United States of America with ride-share initiatives including DriveNow – a BMW owned enterprise,” Mr Werner said.

“We’re pleased to be aligned to best-practice organisations like Atlas Rideshare as we implement this global mobility solution in Australia.”

Atlas general manager Scott Atkins said the BMWs would give its ride-share customers more choice and opportunities to earn through various Uber options.

Under the Victoria Police car deal, 80 six-cylinder diesel BMW 530d sedans in stripped-down police pack guise will be delivered by early 2018 to replace locally made V8 Holden Commodore highway patrol cars which go out of production next month.