Didi's rival is here, Daimler and Geely will set up a joint venture for online car-hailing

According to Bloomberg, Geely and Daimler will cooperate in developing online car-hailing business in China. The two parties will set up a joint venture to provide car-sharing services. According to the news, both parties will hold 50% of the shares. People familiar with the matter said that Daimler is considering using electric vehicles from its joint venture with BYD, Denza, but no final decision has been made yet.

Geely already operates Caocao Private Car, with 23,000 electric vehicles providing online car-hailing services in 24 cities in China. In early 2016, Caocao Private Car was officially launched. In January this year, Caocao Private Car completed a round A financing of 1 billion yuan. This business will provide experience for the joint venture between Geely and Daimler. Daimler is not without foundation either, as it has also launched car-sharing services in Europe.

At present, more and more car companies are positioning themselves as travel service providers. Traditional car companies do not want to fall behind in this round of automotive industry changes, but hope to expand their own industrial chain, not only to provide hardware platforms, but also to get more contact with users.

Against the backdrop of the overall downturn in domestic auto brands, Geely's auto sales have increased significantly this year. Currently, Geely's sales in China are second only to Volkswagen and General Motors.

Earlier this year, Li Shufu acquired nearly 10% of Daimler's shares. After the acquisition, Geely Group will become Daimler's largest shareholder and promise to hold its shares for a long time. Li Shufu himself said that he would fully abide by Daimler's corporate charter and governance structure and respect the company's culture and value orientation.

The establishment of the joint venture will further deepen the cooperation between the two parties. When Geely acquired a stake in Daimler, the industry generally believed that Geely was not simply making a financial investment, but hoped to seek future cooperation with Daimler.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.