car2go Introduces a New Way of Carsharing in Seattle, Washington

SEATTLE, Dec. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- car2go North America, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Daimler North America, will start its carsharing service in Seattle on Dec. 19 by introducing a network of 330 car2go edition smart fortwo vehicles that will be available for shared use 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  Registration for membership opens today at seattle.car2go.com.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121206/NY25282 )

"car2go will soon be one of many ways that people can get around our city," said Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn. "We welcome this new, innovative transportation choice for Seattle residents and visitors."

car2go member registration opens online Dec. 6 at Seattle.car2go.com. For a limited time, all new members who use the promotion code SOUND will receive 30 free minutes of driving time, and currently the one-time $35 membership fee is being waived. 

"I welcome car2go to Seattle.  As chair of the Transportation Committee, one of my goals has been to provide Seattle residents with more transportation choices that make it easier and cheaper to get around the city. Carshare systems, like car2go, are a convenient, affordable option for people who want to reduce or eliminate the costs of car ownership," says City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen.

"The City of Seattle will now have access to the most technologically advanced carsharing program in the market," said Nicholas Cole, president and CEO of car2go North America. "The car2go edition smart fortwo is specifically designed with technologies that allow an entire community to use and share cars collaboratively. Members gain access to a car2go with a swipe of a card, drive the car for as long as they'd like, simply end their rental anywhere within the car2go Home Area, and instantly the car becomes available for the next person to use."

Cole went on to say, "car2go is a great complement to existing public transportation, it has been a proven success in 17 cities around the world, and we look forward to bringing this new form of transportation to the City of Seattle."

A Different Way to Carshare
car2go provides unmatched flexibility and convenience with a free-floating network of cars that are available on-demand for point-to-point trips. Members have unlimited access to car2go 24 hours a day, seven days a week; they can use car2go with or without a reservation, for as long as they would like, without having to commit to a mandatory return time or location.

Members will be able to locate a car via a smartphone app, via the car2go vehicle finder on the car2go website, by calling the customer call center, or simply by finding an available car on the street, anywhere within the 42-square-mile car2go Home Area, where members can pick up or drop off a car: https://seattle.car2go.com/pdf/Seattle-home-area.pdf.

When the member is finished using the vehicle, he or she can park at any city non-restricted metered or un-metered spaces with time limits of two hours or greater, or on-street in any residential neighborhood within the car2go Home Area. Parking, fuel, insurance and maintenance are included at no additional cost.

Members can use car2go by the minute, and they pay only for the time they use the vehicle, with discounted rates for hourly and daily use.

For more information, or to register to become a member of car2go, please visit Seattle.car2go.com, follow @car2goSeattle on Twitter or become a fan of car2go on Facebook at facebook.com/car2go.Seattle.

About car2go
A wholly owned subsidiary of Daimler, car2go offers an innovative mobility solution redefining individual transportation in rapidly growing urban areas by offering a network of several hundred environment-friendly smart fortwo vehicles for rent. It provides an innovative mode of "on-demand" transportation, which complements existing public transportation alternatives by bridging the gaps commonly associated with the "first and last mile" of a public transit commute.

car2go is currently operational in 17 cities worldwide: Austin, Texas; Vancouver, British Columbia; San Diego, California; Washington, D.C.; Portland, Oregon; Toronto, Ontario; Calgary, Alberta; Miami, Florida; Ulm, Germany; Hamburg, Germany; Amsterdam, Netherlands; Vienna, Austria; Dusseldorf, Germany; Berlin, Germany; Stuttgart, Germany; Cologne, Germany and London (UK). In November 2011, car2go launched the world's largest all-electric vehicle carsharing network in the cities of San Diego, California, and Amsterdam, Netherlands, with the deployment of 300 car2go smart fortwo electric drive vehicles in each city. In November 2012, car2go launched its third all-electric carsharing network in the City of Stuttgart, also with 300 car2go smart fortwo electric drive vehicles. Currently, there are more than 250,000 car2go members worldwide. car2go will open in Seattle, Washington in December 2012 and in Birmingham, England in early 2013.

The innovation and environmental sustainability of car2go have earned international acclaim: In 2012, car2go was named the "Best Carshare" by the Vancouver Courier. In September 2010, car2go was recognized by the Austin Chamber of Commerce with the "Greater Austin Business Award" for its positive impact on traffic in the city. The same month, car2go received the "Clean Tech Media Award" in the category of "Mobility" in Berlin. In May 2010, car2go was honored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with its prestigious "2010 EPA Clean Air Excellence Award." Further information on car2go is available at car2go.com and media.daimler.com/ms/car2go/e.

About Daimler
Daimler AG is one of the world's most successful automotive companies. With its divisions Mercedes-Benz Cars, Daimler Trucks, Mercedes-BenzVans, Daimler Buses and Daimler Financial Services, the Daimler Group is one of the biggest producers of premium cars and the world's biggest manufacturer of commercial vehicles with a global reach. Daimler Financial Services provides financing, leasing, fleet management, insurance and innovative mobility services.

The company's founders, Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz, made history with the invention of the automobile in the year 1886. As a pioneer of automotive engineering, Daimler continues to shape the future of mobility today: The Group's focus is on innovative and green technologies as well as on safe and superior automobiles that appeal to and fascinate its customers. For many years now, Daimler has been investing continually in the development of alternative drive systems with the goal of making emission-free driving possible in the long term. So in addition to vehicles with hybrid drive, Daimler now has the broadest range of locally emission-free electric vehicles powered by batteries and fuel cells. This is just one example of how Daimler willingly accepts the challenge of meeting its responsibility toward society and the environment.

Daimler sells its vehicles and services in nearly all the countries of the world and has production facilities on five continents. Its current brand portfolio includes, in addition to the world's most valuable premium automotive brand, Mercedes-Benz, the brands smart, Maybach, Freightliner, Western Star, BharatBenz, Fuso, Setra, Orion and Thomas Built Buses. The company is listed on the stock exchanges of Frankfurt and Stuttgart (stock exchange symbol DAI). In 2011, the Group sold 2.1 million vehicles and employed a workforce of more than 271,000 people; revenue totaled €106.5 billion and EBIT amounted to €8.8 billion.

SOURCE car2go North America, LLC