Daimler And Geely Announce Ride-Hailing Joint Venture In China

Daimler is in the process of setting up a ride-hailing joint venture with Geely in China.

The two automotive giants want to take on Didi Chuxing, the company that currently dominates the ride-hailing industry in the country. In 2017, Didi had a remarkable 217 million users and accounts for 90 per cent of all bookings.

Prior to Daimler and Geely agreeing to this new joint venture, Geely chairman Li Shufu took a 9.69 per cent share in the German automaker earlier this year.

The 50:50 venture will initially use Mercedes-Benz S-Class, E-Class and V-Class models and will be headquartered in Hangzhou, China. The two companies will jointly develop the software infrastructure required to support the business in China.

“The JV (joint venture) will provide ride-hailing mobility services in several Chinese cities using premium vehicles including but not limited to Mercedes-Benz vehicles,” Daimler revealed in a statement.

Geely added that the joint venture will help it grow to more than a car manufacturer: “The development of such services, in which both companies already have a presence, forms part of our transformation from a vehicle manufacturer into a global automotive technology group.”

Daimler and Geely will have their work cut out for them in rivaling Didi, as the ride-hailing giant recently announced plans to expand into ride-sharing and other on-demand transport services.

Geely already has its own ride-hailing service operating in China, dubbed CaoCao. The service has more than 17 million registered users and supports more than 360,000 trips on a daily basis. Daimler also operates a car-sharing service in China and has more than 470,000 customers.