Chauffeur service Blacklane buys majority stake in Havn to boost electric fleet

(Reuters) - German chauffeur service Blacklane has acquired a majority stake in Jaguar Land Rover-backed Havn, a premium all-electric cab service in London, for an undisclosed sum to speed up the electrification of its private hire fleet.

The investment was completed in November and permits Blacklane to grow Havn's service and offer more zero-emission rides in London, the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

With this deal, Berlin-based Blacklane, which operates in more than 300 cities in 50 countries, will add Havn's all-electric Jaguar I-PACE performance SUVs to its global fleet.

App-based ride-hailing service Havn was launched in September 2019 by Jaguar Land Rover's venture capital and mobility services unit, InMotion.

"With our combined expertise, Havn and Blacklane will provide more zero-emission rides in London and beyond to lead the next era of chauffeured services worldwide," Blacklane's chief revenue officer and director of Havn, Sascha Meskendahl, said in a statement.

Global ride-hailing service firms including Uber Technologies Inc and Lyft are increasingly electrifying their fleets, following years of criticism by environmental groups and authorities over the pollution and congestion caused by their vehicles. (https://reut.rs/2YWtCDn)

(Reporting by Samantha Machado in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)