Blacklane takes on SXSW 2018!


Having returned to a cold and snowy Berlin, what else is there to do (other than work our way through overflowing inboxes) than reminisce over the good times Blacklane spent in sunny Austin, at SXSW 2018?

As a holding of Daimler’s Mobility services, Blacklane presented themselves along with car2go, moovel and mytaxi at the Mobility Cube in Palm Park.

Taking a glimpse into the possibilities that await, a ‘news from the future’ mural displayed headlines such as ‘Blacklane adds 1,000th city for rooftop transfers’ – which was certainly a conversation starter! Continuing the theme, moovel Lab presented their latest project ‘Who Wants To Be A Self-Driving Car?’ allowing visitors to see the world through the eyes of an autonomous vehicle while steering through the park and trying not to crash!

Our CEO, Dr Jens Wohltorf, took part in the “On the edge of autonomous driving” speaking session, together with Nat Parker, CEO of moovel, which was broadcasted live from our booth while journalists from across the globe took a front row seat.

Throughout the week-long show, we had the privilege of introducing Blacklane to hundreds of visitors, promoting our global coverage and strengthening our recognition as part of the Daimler family – all underneath the Texan sun in our futuristic lounge.

Of course, when the sun went down the fun didn’t stop as bars and restaurants enticed visitors to the many hosted events where networking (and a fair share of dancing!) went on late into the night.

Blacklane also had two Mercedes-Benz S-Classes at the show, shuttling visitors to and from their destinations and providing them with a much-needed break from the hustle and bustle of the festivities.

One visitor who couldn’t get enough of the Blacklane experience was Mr Wyclef Jean and his team, who were shuttled around for an entire day before arriving at the gig that some would say was the highlight of South by (including yours truly, who was lucky enough to get VIP access)!

Thank you to all the people we met at SXSW, the event organizers and our booth partners, who all contributed to making SXSW the success story that it was.

– Helen Scrase, Key Account Manager