European Union executive conditionally approves Daimler and BMW car-sharing deal

The European Union’s competition authority stated on Wednesday it had accepted the plan of German automakers Daimler and BMW to combine their car-sharing businesses, subject to conditions.

Under the deal, which consists car-sharing units Car2Go and DriveNow along with ride-hailing, parking and charging services, Daimler and BMW will both hold 50 percent stakes in a joint venture.

They have provided concessions to address EU antitrust issues over the deal they hope would allow them better rival with U.S. competitor Uber and China’s Didi Chuxing.

The European Commission has discovered the deal would raise rivalry concerns for free-floating vehicle sharing services in Berlin, Cologne, Duesseldorf, Hamburg, Munich and Vienna. It stated Daimler and BMW agreed to a remedy package in the six towns.

“The commitments thus completely address the Commission’s concerns as they will reduce the barriers to entry for competing free-floating car sharing providers,” the Commission stated.

“Therefore the Commission concluded that the proposed transaction, as modified by the commitments, would no longer raise competition issues. The Commission’s decision is conditional upon full compliance with the commitments.”