Car2go will be launching its on-demand car-sharing service in the Chinese metropolis of Chongquing within a year. Bringing several hundred smart fortwo vehicles, this is car2go’s first step into the Asian market.

A letter of intent has been signed with the city council of Chongquing, says the company.

“With the car2go launch in Chongqing, we will once again take the lead and underline the importance of the Chinese market for Daimler,” said Bodo Uebber, member of the board of management at Daimler AG and chairman of the supervisory board of Daimler Financial Services AG.

The service area will include the extended downtown area of Chongquing. Operating under its car2go name, the name for the Chinese market will also include “Ji Xing,” which means “immediately hit the road.” moovel GmbH will set up its own subsidiary in China to operate car2go, says the company.

"We believe that Asia will be the third successful market for car2go, in addition to Europe and North America,” said Roland Keppler, chief operating officer of moovel GmbH and responsible for car2go. “We’re not only focused on entering the Asian market, but we’re also focused on gaining valuable experience for future rollouts in other cities. …”

In December, car2go announced that its car-sharing service has reached one million members in its 60 cities across eight countries.