BMW's ReachNow Provides Compelling Ride-Hailing Service, finds Strategy Analytics

BOSTON, Aug. 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Many automakers' first forays into the "new mobility" space have taken the form of short-term car-sharing services. But BMW is currently beta-testing a premium ride-hailing service, which provides an intriguing but not-yet-perfect way for automakers to expand into mobility services, as described in a new report from the In-vehicle UX (IVX) group at Strategy Analytics "User Experience Evaluation: ReachNow Ride from BMW".

Click here for report: https://www.strategyanalytics.com/access-services/automotive/in-vehicle-ux/reports/report-detail/user-experience-evaluation-reachnow-ride-from-bmw#.WZV92D6GOM8

Key report findings include:

    --  The ride-hailing process for ReachNow Ride from BMW is similar, if not
        identical, to more widely-used ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Lyft.
    --  Time and price estimates are provided, but limited pick-up and drop-off
        zones lead to confusion and errors. In addition, cost estimates are not
        accurate although not too distant from the actual cost
    --  The in-vehicle experience is standardized, though riders can customize
        their experience in key ways. For example, users can select a desired
        radio station, temperature, and driver engagement request, prior to
        pick-up.

Derek Viita, report author and senior analyst commented, "Providing a companion ride-hailing service with a car-sharing service opens up many new transport use cases for OEMs entering the new mobility space. But cost to the user will remain a crucial factor. Ultimately, the end-to-end user experience of any transport mode needs to be compelling, and the cost needs to be appropriate for the use case."

Added Chris Schreiner, Director, Syndicated Research UXIP, "The transport modality needs to be available whenever it is needed, simple to use, and convenient for the use case. The time required to use it for an individual journey must be reasonable in addition to being comfortable and safe. But without a focus on UX, car-sharing services will always lag behind ride-hailing/sharing services, which are better positioned to cater to a wider variety of transport use cases."

About Strategy Analytics

Strategy Analytics, Inc. provides the competitive edge with advisory services, consulting and actionable market intelligence for emerging technology, mobile and wireless, digital consumer and automotive electronics companies. With offices in North America, Europe and Asia, Strategy Analytics delivers insights for enterprise success. www.StrategyAnalytics.com.

About In-vehicle UX

Our In-vehicle User Experience (IVX) service investigates UX innovation opportunities in the connected vehicle. By understanding the emerging behaviors, needs, motivations, use cases, pain-points and "must-have" experiences of lead adopters and future target consumers, IVX delivers a roadmap to help you design the optimal experience. IVX forms part of the User Experience Innovation Practice (UXIP) at Strategy Analytics. Through both syndicated and proprietary user-centric research capabilities, UXIP delivers strategic insights and analysis on how to optimize the user experience of new and emerging technologies. Click here for more information.

Press Contacts

US Contact: Derek Viita, +1 617 614 0772, dviita@strategyanalytics.com

European Contact: Diane O'Neill, +44(0) 1908 423 669, doneill@strategyanalytics.com

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SOURCE Strategy Analytics