Blacklane acquires majority stake in Jaguar-backed London e-chauffeur Havn

Global chauffeur service Blacklane has acquired a majority stake in Havn, the Jaguar-backed London electric chauffeur start-up, and has added the brand to its offering in the capital.

Blacklane now plans to grow Havn’s service and offer more zero-emission rides in London, as well as adding the Jaguar I-Pace EV to its global fleet for the first time. 

Havn was launched September 2019 by InMotion, Jaguar Land Rover’s venture capital and mobility services arm, which invests in new products and services in the autonomous, electrified, connected and shared mobility sector.

Berlin-based Blacklane has operated in London since 2013, part of a global service spanning 50 countries. The premium chauffeur service has offset carbon emissions of all rides worldwide since 2017 – a first for the sector. This year, Blacklane will achieve carbon neutrality over the company’s lifetime by offsetting past emissions from 2016 back to its 2011 founding.

Sascha Meskendahl, chief revenue officer of Blacklane and director of Havn, said: “Havn customers can have safety, sustainability and sanitisation at the same time. 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.”

Lars Klawitter, managing director of Studio 107, InMotion, said: “This is a partnership of companies that believe in being first. Havn was London’s first all-electric chauffeur service, while Blacklane introduced the first carbon-offset programme in the industry. Blacklane and Havn share the same DNA of customer service, professional chauffeurs and green mobility.”

Blacklane CEO and Co-founder Jens Wohltorf has committed the company to switching to electric vehicles, saying: “While EVs are a novelty in chauffeured transportation right now, we will make them the norm.” Blacklane added EVs to its fleet in 30 cities in 2018.

Each Havn journey can be tailored to the preferences of the passenger with options such as playlist, temperature and chauffeur interaction all customisable within the Havn app.

Blacklane and Havn have a policy of Covid-19 secure health checks to protect chauffeurs and customers. Chauffeurs take their temperatures daily, wear masks, circulate fresh air between trips and disinfect vehicles before and after every journey. Passengers are offered complimentary hand sanitiser and a mask.