Automakers invest in Urgent.ly

Three leading automotive brands have invested in a US$21 million funding round in Urgent.ly’s mobility and roadside assistance services.

BMW i Ventures, Porsche Ventures and Jaguar Land Rover’s InMotion Ventures are backing Urgent.ly which has raised the money in an oversubscribed new Series B funding round.

Global automotive and new mobility companies are increasingly designing and marketing more transportation options with varying tasks, sizes and complexity.

This level of innovation will render traditional roadside assistance obsolete, evolving into mobility assistance that can service today’s vehicles as well as fleets of the future that will include electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, micro-mobility vehicles, drones, robotic delivery and more, Urgent.ly says.

“The old model of roadside assistance must make way for a modern, more digital approach,” BMW i Ventures partner Kasper Sage says.

“Urgent.ly will allow OEMs around the world to provide their customers the kind of real-time and connected digital experience they now expect in everything from food delivery to ride-sharing,” he says.

“Urgent.ly enables unparalleled transparency connecting dealerships, OEMs, providers and customers in real time, with actionable data-driven insights to optimise the experience along every step of the way.”

InMotion Ventures managing director Sebastian Peck says OEMs need to work more closely together to create the foundations for an improved, technology-enabled customer experience, and fully harness the entrepreneurial energy driving digital transformation of the industry.

Separately, BMW Group has also recently selected Urgent.ly to work together with the BMW ConnectedDrive Customer Interaction Centre (BMW Assist) as the vendor partner to provide roadside assistance and extended mobility services to owners of all four of its brands in the US – BMW, BMW Motorrad, Mini and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

The team at Urgent.ly understands the expectations of our customers and have demonstrated the ability to tailor programs and features in their software, BMW roadside assistance and mobility services manager Mike Hernandez says.

“This provides the ability to offer unique services using BMW Servicemobile operated by our authorised dealers or, when needed, a highly-vetted, brand-specific network of the best towers and transportation professionals in the industry.”

Urgent.ly co-founder and chief executive officer Chris Spanos says the company looks forward to continuing to innovate its connected services across the rapidly evolving global automotive, insurance and mobility markets.

American Tire Distributors (ATD) is also an investor.

Visit www.geturgently.com for more information and to download Urgent.ly’s whitepaper Breakdown Shakeup: Reimagining Roadside Assistance in the Era of New Mobility.