Car sharing provider MILES Mobility acquires WeShare

Berlin/Cologne, Novem­ber 02, 2022 — Germany’s largest inde­pen­dent car sharing provi­der MILES Mobi­lity has acqui­red Volks­wa­gen subsi­diary UMI Urban Mobi­lity Inter­na­tio­nal GmbH, known as WeShare. The carsha­ring provi­der WeShare is present in Berlin and Hamburg with around 2,000 all-elec­­tric vehic­les, which are now being migra­ted to the MILES ecosys­tem, the exis­ting carpool and the user app.

WeShare is backed by VW subsi­diary UMI Urban Mobi­lity Inter­na­tio­nal, which is being acqui­red by Miles Mobi­lity. The WeShare fleet, which consists of 100 percent elec­tric vehic­les, will be inte­gra­ted into Miles Mobility’s car pool.

VW and Miles Mobi­lity have also agreed on a stra­te­gic part­ner­ship. Part of the coope­ra­tion is the purchase of more than 10,000 elec­tric vehic­les from the Audi, Seat/Cupra and VW brands, which will be deli­vered to Miles Mobi­lity start­ing next year. With regard to the finan­cial details of the tran­sac­tion, the parties have agreed to main­tain confidentiality.

With this acqui­si­tion, the company is expan­ding its vehicle fleet and custo­mer base in an econo­mical and sustainable way. MILES custo­mers will bene­fit from a larger e‑fleet, and exis­ting WeShare custo­mers will gain access to a signi­fi­cantly larger and more diverse vehicle port­fo­lio, six addi­tio­nal German and two Belgian cities, and new services such as city-to-city and cross-coun­­try rides. In total, more than 11,000 vehic­les will be available in Germany and Belgium. As part of the new part­ner­ship, MILES has alre­ady orde­red more than 10,000 addi­tio­nal elec­tric vehic­les from Audi, Seat/Cupra and VW Passen­ger Cars for deli­very start­ing in 2023.

Both parties are thus taking an important step towards a relia­ble, comfor­ta­ble and sustainable form of mobi­lity as an alter­na­tive to the private vehicle. To conti­nue on this course, MILES aims to become Europe’s leading car-sharing platform.

Consultant:inside MILES Mobi­lity: YPOG
Dr. Johan­nes Janning (Co-Lead, M&A), Asso­cia­ted Partner
Dr. Stephan Bank (Co-Lead, M&A), Partner
Dr. Tim Schlös­ser (Co-Lead, M&A), Partner
Nina Ahlert (M&A), Senior Associate
Jona­than Görg (M&A), Associate
Laura Franke (M&A), Project Lawyer
Dr. Lutz Schrei­ber (IP/IT, Data Protec­tion), Partner
Dr. Bene­dikt Flöter (IP/IT, Data Protec­tion), Asso­cia­ted Partner
Matthias Treude (IP/IT, Data Protec­tion), Associate
Anna Eick­meier (IP/IT, Data Protec­tion), Senior Associate
Sara Apen­burg (IP/IT, Data Protec­tion), Senior Associate
Dr. Malte Berg­mann (Tax), Partner
Ann-Kris­­tin Loch­mann (Tax), Asso­cia­ted Partner
Lukas Schmitt (Tax), Associate

Advi­sors VW / WeShare: Arqis
VW is being advi­sed by Arqis in the course of the sale of its subsi­diary UMI Urban Mobi­lity Inter­na­tio­nal and the stra­te­gic coope­ra­tion with Miles Mobi­lity. Lead manage­ment Dr. Lars Laeger.

About MILES Mobility
MILES is Germany’s largest inde­pen­dent car-sharing provi­der. The offe­ring includes mileage-based car sharing, van sharing, and packa­ges for flexi­ble long-term rentals as well as city-to-city trips — all without stati­ons in a free-floa­­ting system. MILES belie­ves in a world where mobi­lity should be shared, sustainable and acces­si­ble to ever­yone and wants to offer an alter­na­tive to private car owner­ship. The goal is to be part of the perso­nal mobi­lity mix to improve urban living. MILES is curr­ently active in Germany (Berlin, Pots­dam, Hamburg, Munich, Colo­gne, Düssel­dorf, Bonn and Duis­burg) and in Belgium (Ghent and Brussels).

About WeShare
WeShare is the 100% elec­tric car sharing service of UMI Urban Mobi­lity Inter­na­tio­nal GmbH, head­quar­te­red in Berlin. A Volks­wa­gen AG company, WeShare laun­ched in July 2019 with 1,500 elec­tric vehic­les in Berlin and expan­ded its fleet to Hamburg over time. As a “vehicle on demand” service, WeShare serves the needs of people who do not want to do without indi­vi­dual mobi­lity. It is inten­ded as a useful addi­tio­nal service for all occa­si­ons when a car is prac­ti­cal and convenient.

About YPOG
YPOG is a specia­list tax and commer­cial law firm opera­ting in the core areas of Funds, Tax and Tran­sac­tions. The YPOG team advi­ses a wide variety of clients. These include emer­ging tech­no­logy compa­nies and family-run medium-sized enter­pri­ses as well as corpo­ra­ti­ons and private equity/venture capi­tal funds. YPOG is one of the leading addres­ses for venture capi­tal, private equity and fund struc­tu­ring in Germany. The firm and its part­ners are natio­nally and inter­na­tio­nally ranked by JUVE, Best Lawy­ers, Legal 500, Focus, and Cham­bers and Part­ners. Today, YPOG employs more than 100 expe­ri­en­ced lawy­ers, tax advi­sors, tax specia­lists and a notary in three offices in Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne.