US ride-hailing giant Lyft is expanding beyond North America for the first time with the acquisition of European mobility platform Freenow in a €175m deal.
The agreement marks Lyft’s most significant international push to date, enabling it to establish a major foothold across nine European countries including the UK, Germany, France and Spain. Freenow will continue to operate under its current name and leadership team.
The San Francisco-based company, founded in 2012, said the move follows its first full year of net profits in 2024 and signals a new chapter of transatlantic ambition.
“This was the right opportunity at the right time. FreeNow has built a strong, profitable business with deep local expertise. For Lyft, this acquisition nearly doubles its addressable market and offers an immediate foothold in Europe through a well-established brand,” a FreeNow spokesperson told Zag Daily.
Freenow is currently owned by German automotive heavyweights BMW Group and Mercedes-Benz Mobility. Subject to regulatory approval, the transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2025.
It comes despite recent turbulence in equity markets following the start of the Trump administration, which has led to delays in other mergers and public listings.
FreeNow, headquartered in Hamburg, currently serves more than 150 cities and is a market leader in key hubs such as London, Dublin, Berlin and Madrid.
According to the company, taxis accounted for approximately 90 per cent of its gross bookings in 2024. The app has 6.3 million active passengers and has broken even since mid-2024, generating over €1 billion in gross bookings last year.
Thomas Zimmermann, CEO of FreeNow, described the deal as a “defining moment.”
“With this move, we’re opening an exciting new chapter that will accelerate our mission across Europe and bring even greater value to our riders, drivers, fleet partners, and cities,” he said.
Zimmermann added that the acquisition would allow FreeNow to scale up with “more tools, more talent, more innovation and even more ambition.”
Strategic shift
For Lyft, the deal represents a diversification of its revenue streams and a doubling of its total addressable market to over 300 billion personal vehicle trips annually. The company said the acquisition could boost its annualised gross bookings by around €1bn.
Together, Lyft and FreeNow will serve more than 50 million annual riders, with ambitions to deliver a smoother user experience, deeper taxi integration, and greater earnings transparency for drivers. Although FreeNow will retain a localised focus, the two platforms will ultimately be integrated, allowing for cross-continental access through a single app.
“This move isn’t just about scale – it’s about combining complementary strengths to accelerate innovation and improve the experience for everyone on the platform,” the FreeNow spokesperson added. “Together, this will mean better service, smarter technology, and a more connected mobility experience across the Atlantic.”
The acquisition also comes at a time when roughly half of all taxi bookings in Europe are still made offline, a gap Lyft and Freenow believe they can fill with more robust digital offerings.
“Joining forces with Lyft is a powerful step forward for Freenow,” Zimmermann said. “We stand with the industry—not above it—and remain proud partners of the community.”
Unlike other mobility platforms that have leaned heavily into private hire vehicles, FreeNow has kept taxis at the centre of its model. Risher said FreeNow’s fleet management tech would help expand Lyft’s business beyond its core rideshare model. “We are embracing FreeNow’s taxi-first business model,” he said.
Despite the ownership change, FreeNow will continue to work closely with local regulators, unions and taxi fleet operators — relationships it has cultivated over many years.
BMW and Mercedes-Benz Mobility venture ends
The deal represents an end to BMW and Mercedes-Benz Mobility’s joint venture into app-based transport. In 2019, the two German automakers committed more than €1 billion across a portfolio of mobility startups spanning carsharing, parking and charging. Several of those ventures have since been divested, including ShareNow, sold to Stellantis in 2022.
In a joint statement, BMW and Mercedes said they would now “continue to focus on their core operations and their transformational development to electrification, digitalisation and AI as well as decarbonisation.”
For Lyft, the acquisition comes on the heels of a record-breaking 2024, with the company posting its strongest-ever gross bookings, profitability and free cash flow.
