Europcar has signed an agreement with Daimler Mobility Services for the sale of its 25 per cent stake in car2go Europe.

The completion of the transaction requires the approval of the competent antitrust authorities, with the parties expecting to receive these approvals and close the transaction before the end of the second quarter of 2018.

car2go Europe was founded in 2012 and operates today in 14 cities across Europe.

Caroline Parot, Europcar Group chief executive, stated: “We want to thank the Daimler Group for our longstanding partnership since 2012 within car2go Europe.

“This investment has taught us a great deal about car sharing and the acquired knowledge will be most valuable to us as we continue to expand our fully owned companies such as Ubeeqo, BlueMove or Brunel in the New Mobility space.

“As mentioned during our recent investor day, the Europcar Group will significantly expand its exposure to new mobility segments - such as car sharing, ride hailing, multi-modal platforms and car-pooling.

Europcar expects to spend €150-200 million between 2018-2020 on new mobility capacity.

Parot added: “The sale of our 25 per cent stake in car2go Europe significantly contributes to this funding.

“Our aim is to address better new customer needs and continue to leverage the group’s key assets, namely its fleet management capabilities and its diversified customer reach, to position the group successfully in the Mobility ecosystem to capture its double-digit growth prospects by 2025.”

The deal, valued at €70 million, is expected to pave the way for Mercedes and BMW to develop driverless taxis.

Jörg Lamparter, Daimler head of mobility services, stated: “Over the course of the last several months, we have intensified our investments in mobility services in order to create a holistic mobility system with a broad portfolio.

“As part of this strategy, we decided to fully acquire the remaining shares in car2go Europe.”

Financial results

Also today, Europcar revealed revenue of €2,412 million for 2017, up 13.5 per cent at constant exchange rates on the previous year.

Adjusted corporate EBITDA for the year stood at €264 million, up 4.6 per cent, while the company reported a net income of €61 million, due to a €71 million non-recurring expense.

The cost relates to a Trading Standards investigation in the, where Europcar has been accused of fraudulently inflating repair costs.

Parot added: “We delivered a strong performance in 2017 both in terms of revenue and adjusted corporate EBITDA growth in a challenging context relating to the closing of several sizable acquisitions and the unexpected litigation issue in the UK.

“Last year has been a pivotal year for the Europcar Group during which we have significantly scaled up through an acceleration in our mergers and acquisition plan.

“The acquisitions of Buchbinder and Goldcar are transformational for the group and will help us deliver our 2020 Ambition while they clearly confirm the role we want to play in our industry’s European consolidation process.”