On 28 april 2017, the European Commission approved, under the EU merger regulation, the creation of a joint venture by BMW AG (“BMW”, Germany), Daimler AG (“Daimler”, Germany), Ford Motor Company (“Ford”, USA) and Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft (“Porsche”, Germany). The aforementioned companies manufacture and distribute passenger cars and commercial vehicles, and also provide mobility services based on battery-electric vehicles.

In particular, BMW manufactures and distributes passenger cars and motorbikes, it also provides financial services for private and business customers. Daimler manufactures and distributes passenger cars and commercial vehicles, it also provides financial services, including financing, leasing, insurance and fleet management services. Ford manufactures and distributes passenger cars and commercial vehicles, it also provides financial and leasing services. Porsche produces and distributes passenger cars (Porsche is part of the Volkswagen Group).

The Commission found that the proposed joint venture would not raise competition concerns because of its limited competitive impact on the market. The new joint venture will install, operate and maintain a publicly accessible charging infrastructure for battery-electric vehicles.

Davide Scavuzzo