Ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft face new competition from Mercedes-Benz Vans, which announced this week that it would be joining the market through a joint venture with Via.
Via is a U.S.-founded startup that has already proven itself in New York, Chicago and Washington D.C. It utilizes a mobile-app to supplement existing transportation networks, relying on an algorithm that matches searchers with a vehicle that best matches their route. People headed in the same direction are matched to a single van, without a need for detours–which consequently relieves traffic strain. Mercedes-Benz Vans invested $50 million into the operation and Daimler Mobility Services is listed as a strategic investor.
With the new investment, Via will be going from an American company to an international one. Its joint venture will bring it first to London later this year, but Mercedes-Benz is already eying other European metropolises for expansion.
“On-demand ride-sharing offers many new ways of making city traffic efficient, needs-based and sustainable – especially when it involves the use of spacious, safe and comfortable vans,” Volker Mornhinweg, head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, said. “Via is one of the most successful providers in the growing ride-sharing market while Mercedes-Benz Vans has the fitting vehicles that are being continuously optimized for this job. By deepening our cooperation with Via, we are thus taking the next logical step in the context of our strategy for the future and are expanding our range of new mobility services.”
Mercedes-Benz Vans and Via have actually been cooperating since 2015, but this strategic joint venture will see the creation of a new entity headquartered in Amsterdam. Additionally, it will license out Via’s proprietary technology — their On-Demand Shuttle Operating System — to third parties.