(Yicai Global) Dec. 4 -- ReachNow, the car-sharing service Bayerische Motoren Werke AG operates in the US and Germany, introduced its flexible vehicle rental program in Chengdu in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan on Dec. 1.

ReachNow rolled out 100 electric BMW i3s in the city. Users can pay USD0.30 (CNY2) per minute to borrow them. Drivers can reserve, pick up, drop off, operate and pay for cars through the group's key-free system.

Chengdu will boast 25 stations where users can start and end their rentals by next year. They will be near luxury residential and commercial areas, office buildings that host large companies, government compounds and five-star hotels.

"Chengdu features a sound economic basis, and is a major city in West China," said Pan Dingqiao, BMW's strategic director for its Chinese car-sharing business. "We are optimistic about the openness of this city. In particular, the leisurely lifestyle of Chengdu people is famous in China. They are quite receptive to the new model of the sharing economy. The Chengdu government also gave us lots of support."