ReachNow to Eventually Test BMW’s Autonomous Vehicles
Steve Banfield, CEO of ReachNow, says that Seattle’s ReachNow carsharing service will be one of the first places people will get to try out BMW autonomous vehicles.

BMW's ReachNow carsharing service includes MINI Clubman vehicles. Photo courtesy of BMW.

BMW's ReachNow carsharing service includes MINI Clubman vehicles. Photo courtesy of BMW.
Steve Banfield, CEO of ReachNow, says that Seattle’s ReachNow carsharing service will be one of the first places people will get to try out BMW autonomous vehicles, according to a report by BMW.
“The benefit to having ReachNow in your region is that you are going to be the first people to try autonomous cars from BMW,” Banfield said at the Economic Development Council of Seattle & King County’s annual Economic Forecast Conference. “We are going to bring them here and we are going to be able to use them and test them.”
ReachNow’s carsharing service recently hit 40,000 members, says the report. ReachNow has been testing new carsharing services (including Ride, Fleet Solutions, and Share) in Seattle and New York.
Click here for the full BMW report.
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