Other car companies, such as BMW AG and Volkswagen AG, also have Silicon Valley presences.

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German luxury car maker BMW AG has for several years offered buyers of new BMWs four years of free maintenance.

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In the sector overall though, Johnson sees unwavering demand in specialty car makers, such as Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW), Mercedes-Benz and Lexus, because they don't have the same huge footprint as the bigger car manufacturers, but it also means that they don't need to make as many sales to see profits.

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DriveNow was launched in Germany in June 2011 as a car sharing joint venture between the BMW Group and the car rental company Sixt AG.

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