Sixt to Ramp Up Ride-Hailing in U.S. to Compete With UberBlack

(Bloomberg) -- Sixt SE, the German car-rental company, will expand its luxury ride-hailing service in the U.S. next year in a drive to pick off customers from Uber Technologies Inc.’s premium UberBlack service, Chairman Erich Sixt said.

Sixt has been piloting the app-based service, called MyDriver, in the U.S. since spring and it’s now available in 16 American cities, according to its website. The company plans to recruit more third-party limousine drivers next year in a bet that more rides will allow it to lower prices, said Konrad Thoma, a co-managing director of MyDriver.

The company will offer the service, which has to be pre-booked online or through the mobile app, as an alternative to customers of its rental car business. Sixt is also in the process of making its ride-hail service available on demand in Europe, Thoma said.

Sixt, which also offers traditional rental car services across the U.S. and globally, opened a new U.S. corporate headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, last week. It’s also BMW AG’s partner in the DriveNow car-sharing business.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gabrielle Coppola in New York at gcoppola@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Trudell at ctrudell1@bloomberg.net, Anne Riley Moffat

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