In a push to capitalize on its fastest growing North American market, Daimler-owned car-sharing service car2go just added Mercedes-Benz CLAs to its New York City fleet. Twenty new CLAs are joining car2go's tiny 550 smart fourtwo vehicles in the Big Apple, its second-largest market. Car2go grew by 70 percent year over year in the city, where it has operated for three years. "Transitioning to Mercedes-Benz in previous cities has gone very well, as the usage is two to three times that of the smarts," regional director Josh Moskowitz told CNBC. The NYC upgrade comes as car2Go tries to build momentum in the U.S., after several setbacks during the past five years.

Car2go added Mercedes-Benz CLAs to its New York City fleet on Tuesday Michael Sheetz | CNBC

"Two cities that I oversaw — Minneapolis-Saint Paul and San Diego — we closed operations," Moskowitz said. "We were, and still are, pioneers in this space, and along the way we've learned which cities can successfully support car sharing." As a wholly owned subsidiary of Daimler, the company's profitability is kept under wraps. Car2go declined to disclose its financial information. Car2go is the world's largest car-sharing service by both members and vehicles, beating out Avis Budget Group-owned competitor Zipcar. Paul DeLong, president of car2go North America, said the slower development compared with Europe is "in a nutshell" due to countries overseas being "generally more progressive when it comes to mobility policy."

The next stop

"We are in advanced discussions with several major North American cities," DeLong said, noting car2go plans to open in additional North American locations next year. The company would not confirm further details. However, car2go did point to six major U.S. cities it does not have operations: Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston and Philadelphia.

The Daimler-owned car2go is in 11 North American cities Michael Sheetz | CNBC

Moskowitz said the company considers several criteria before launching a fleet — especially measurements of population density, total population, alternative transportation options and major destination points. "Car2go works where vehicle ownership is very low, where people don't own or have only one car but still need access," Moskowitz said. "We're seeing people starting families and wanting to live near the urban core but don't need a vehicle. Car2go fills that void."

The blueprint for the Big Apple

Car2go will take a gradual approach as it introduces the CLAs, and eventually GLAs, into the NYC fleet. The prime example, Moskowitz said, is Washington, where car2go introduced the Mercedes earlier this year.

The interior of one of the new car2go Mercedes-Benz CLAs Michael Sheetz | CNBC