Insider Brief
- Benteler Group agreed to acquire ioki GmbH from Deutsche Bahn, combining vehicle manufacturing, mobility software and fleet operations to form a single European autonomous mobility provider, with closing expected in the near term.
- The deal brings together holon’s autonomous urban shuttle, ioki’s on-demand routing and simulation software and Benteler Mobility’s fleet operations and financing, offering cities and transit agencies an integrated vehicles-to-operations package.
- Benteler said ioki will remain system-agnostic and expand internationally, supporting mixed fleets as operators transition from human-driven services toward autonomous public transport.
Benteler Group announced it has agreed to acquire ioki GmbH from Deutsche Bahn, a deal that brings together vehicle manufacturing, mobility software and fleet operations under one European owner. Financial terms were not disclosed and the transaction is expected to close in the near term, according to the German company.
With the acquisition, Benteler Group will combine ioki with Holon and Benteler Mobility to form what it describes as a full-service autonomous mobility provider. Benteler’s Holon manufactures an autonomous urban shuttle. ioki supplies software platforms for on-demand routing, public transport integration and simulation. Benteler Mobility provides fleet operations, services and financing. Together, the three units are positioned to offer municipalities and transit agencies a single package spanning vehicles, software and operations, Benteler said in the announcement this week.
Benteler Group said the structure is intended to simplify deployment of autonomous mobility by reducing the need for cities and operators to coordinate across multiple vendors. ioki’s data-driven planning tools can be used to model where autonomous shuttles such as the holon urban could complement existing bus and rail networks. Both the software and vehicle platforms are designed to scale together, with the aim of lowering operating costs and shortening rollout timelines.
Founded in 2018, ioki employs more than 100 people and has supported more than 200 transport services, reaching close to 10 million passengers. The company has focused on on-demand mobility, ride pooling and simulation-based transport planning and has played a role in pilot deployments of autonomous vehicles within public transit systems. Until now, most of its activity has been concentrated in Europe.
Benteler Group said the acquisition opens access to international markets for ioki while preserving its system-agnostic approach. ioki’s driver-based ride pooling software will remain part of its core product offering and is intended to support mixed fleets as operators transition gradually from human-driven to autonomous services. In the autonomous segment, customers will be able to deploy holon vehicles or integrate autonomous platforms from other suppliers.
The three companies are already working on joint projects that are expected to serve as reference deployments for the integrated model. Benteler Group framed the move as part of a broader strategy to expand beyond its traditional metal processing business into autonomous mobility. By combining manufacturing, software and operations, the group aims to position itself as a long-term partner for cities and transit agencies seeking to introduce autonomous services in a controlled and economically viable way.
Image credit: Benteler Group
