Skip to main content

Car2Go service supplements fleet of Smart cars with roomy sedans, crossovers

2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class All-Terrain
Ronan Glon/Digital Trends
Operating under the assumption that bigger really is better, Car2Go is trading in its signature smart cars for something a little more … robust. On Monday, the Daimler-owned car sharing service announced that it will be expanding its offerings to include the Mercedes GLA crossover and the CLA sedan. This comes as a sharp deviation from the company’s previous offerings, which were mainly focused on the two-seat Smart car.

In fact, by the end of the year, Car2Go hopes to have more four-seater cars than Smart cars in its fleet. Six North American cities will be the first to see the luxury sedans in the lineup — Austin, Portland, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, and Washington, D.C. This move, the transportation company hopes, will actually make it a bit more useful to customers who aren’t minuscule, or actually have things to transport in their cars.

Recommended Videos

“Car2Go is already the most popular car sharing service in the world,” said Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars. “Now it will be even more attractive to small groups of friends and families who want to conveniently travel around cities in style, safety, and comfort.”

The almost 10-year-old company was first started in 2008 as one of the first ridesharing services to come out of a major automaker. While Mercedes led the charge, other luxury brands have followed suit, including BMW, who has its ReachNow service. And as the popularity of car sharing has grown, so too have the needs of customers.

“A lot of people back when we first started, they were single people, they didn’t have families, they owned a car and they decided to get rid of a car because of car-sharing services like Car2Go,” company president Paul DeLong said. “As their life has gotten bigger and people have entered into their life, having a bigger vehicle matters.”

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
Tesla and Elon Musk sued over use of AI image at Cybercab event
tesla and spacex CEO elon musk stylized image

Tesla’s recent We, Robot presentation has run into trouble, with one of the production companies behind Blade Runner 2049 suing Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk, for alleged copyright infringement.

Tesla used the glitzy October 10 event to unveil its Cybercab and Robovan, and also to showcase the latest version of its Optimus humanoid robot.

Read more
Qualcomm wants to power your next car with the Snapdragon Cockpit and Ride Elite platforms
Qualcomm Snapdragon Cockpit Elite and Ride Elite automotive platforms

It’s been a big year for Qualcomm. Alongside its massive launch into laptop chips through the Snapdragon X Elite series, Qualcomm is now entering the automotive space. The company has announced the new Qualcomm Snapdragon Cockpit Elite and Snapdragon Ride Elite platforms at its annual Snapdragon Summit, which it flew me out to attend.

The two platforms are designed for different purposes, and can be used togetheror separately. The Snapdragon Cockpit Elite is built for in-vehicle infotainment systems and services, while the Snapdragon Ride Elite is built to power autonomous vehicle systems, including all the cameras and sensors that go into those systems.

Read more
Scout Traveler and Scout Terra forge a new path for EVs
Scout Traveler and Scout Terra.

Electric vehicles are inseparable from newness, whether it’s new tech, new designs, or new companies like Rivian, Lucid, and Tesla. But the Volkswagen Group’s new EV-only brand also relies heavily on the past.

Unveiled Thursday, the Scout Traveler electric SUV and Scout Terra electric pickup truck are modern interpretations of the classic International Harvester Scout. Manufactured from 1961 to 1980, the original Scout helped popularize the idea of the rugged, off-road-capable utility vehicle, setting the stage for modern SUVs.

Read more