Juan Barnett:

BMW has announced and Audi hinted at (via trademark filings) brand-owned car sharing services. But if luxury automakers get serious about the game of car sharing Daimler is poised to win and here’s how.

In the U.S. Car2Go has worked very hard to not only be in urban areas across the U.S., but to also develop parking agreements to allow users of their service the freedom to park anywhere, for free. This helped give Car2Go an advantage over its competitors which typically require loaner vehicles be returned to a designated parking spot.

A recent survey conducted by Alix Partners found, among other things, ease of ease of access and convenience ranked at the top of the list for why people participate in a car sharing services.

Car2Go, the fleet of park-anywhere blue-and-white Smart Fortwos, is a global brand owned by Daimler, parent company to Mercedes Benz. While the fleet of Smart ForTwos will work for most people and I’m sure Daimler was happy to report the small cars as ‘sold’, what if Daimler decided, or the market decided for Daimler, that it was time to add a little luxury and practicality to the fleet of small utilitarian cars.