the french company announced last week the acquisition of its main rival in the market, the German Carpooling, and the Hungarian company Autohop with the purpose of reinforcing its already consolidated leadership and dominating the European market. Blablacar did not disclose the price it will pay for Carpooling, but given the magnitude of the operation, it is estimated that it will include a significant sum of money.
Carpooling, a leader based in Germany
carpooling, which is headquartered in Munich, was founded in 2001 by Stefan Weber, Michael Reinicke and Matthias Siedler, became a global leader in 2012 with 1 million people transported each month through 40 countries in Europe. That same year he received $10 million investment by German automaker Daimler. It currently has five million members subscribed in the European market.
Carpooling President Markus Barnikelpointed out that «His team as a whole is pleased with this future collaboration with Blablacar, which will allow car-sharing services to be developed on a new scale.” Likewise, it was also assured that in the short term work will continue under the current brand but with the aim of integrating into the Blablacar brand. “For now, the service will remain in Carpooling.com, although the goal is to unify the products and the user communities to provide the largest platform for car sharing through BlaBlaCar”
Blablacar has more than 20 million users
For its part, Blablacar, which received last summer a $100 millioncurrently has a staff of 260 people and with more than 20 million members in 18 markets European and Asian, the three from the Benelux, Germany, Croatia, Spain, Hungary, India, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine. The company recently started operations in India, being the first country outside the European borders. In the statement provided by the company it was highlighted that the operation «It will significantly increase the Blablacar community in the largest country in Europe, Germany»
The president and founder of the French company, Frédéric Mazzellaassured that «They see huge demand in Europe for their reliable and secure car sharing solution.” Mazzella added that » the integration of the two companies will allow us to offer a better, totally unified service for Blablacar members in Germany and Central Europe. Merging our communities into those markets allows for the creation of a true transportation alternative.”
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