Didi Kuaidi announces plans to branch out to car sales
China’s leading app-based, ride-hailing service provider, Didi Kuaidi, yesterday announced plans to expand into the auto sales business. Local analysts said it has always been key to Didi's strategy to broaden its product line, and the latest move clearly demonstrates this. In a statement sent to the Global Times over the weekend, Didi said it was planning to sell 100 each of Mercedes-Benz and FAW Toyota vehicles through its test drive app, Didi Shijia. Zhu Lei, vice-president of Didi Kuaidi, said the campaign marks the company's latest attempt to offer more targeted marketing services for automakers. "By offering test-drive services, we can accumulate data on what types of cars consumers like. Selling automobiles online offers a chance to turn such understanding of consumer preferences into precision marketing, which in turn will boost the proportion of consumers who actually buy cars," he said. 
In October, Didi Kuaidi launched test-drive services, a product it said "has a huge business potential". Through its platform users can currently test-drive about 100 models in six cities, with plans to expand the to more than 30 cities within a year.

Moves reflect consistent strategy of broadening product line to win over passengers, analysts say

The nation's leading mobile-based car-hailing services provider Didi Kuaidi on Monday announced a special offer for its new ride-sharing services along with plans to get into the car-selling business.

Experts said it has always been key to Didi's strategy to broaden its product line, and the latest moves clearly show this.

According to a statement on Didi's Sina Weibo account on Monday, if a customer requests a shared ride but doesn't get one, he can take a taxi alone with a 50 percent discount on the fare. If he does find a shared ride, he gets a 50 percent discount on the fare for that ride as well as another discount of up to 10 yuan ($1.6).

The ride-sharing service of Didi Express began a test run on November 4 and was officially launched on December 1, said a statement Didi sent to the Global Times on Monday. Didi Express is one of Didi's car-hailing apps.

According to the statement, the Didi Express ride-sharing service is available in 14 domestic cities, including Beijing, Guangzhou in South China's Guangdong Province and Chengdu in Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The statement also said that this service has been well received by the market. During the test period, which ran from November 4 to 23, about 6.5 million orders were completed in six cities.

However, most customers the Global Times contacted said they have concerns about the service.

Tian Kai, a Beijing resident, told the Global Times on Monday that he would consider using the service only if the people sharing the car "don't smoke" and "aren't drunk or smelly."

Lin Deren, another Beijing resident, also told the Global Times on Monday that he wouldn't use the service because of safety reasons.

"Besides, the service is cheap but not that cheap," he noted.

"The service would save money for both customers and drivers," Zhang Xu, an analyst at Beijing-based market research firm Analysys International, told the Global Times on Monday. "It would also raise the utilization rate of cars."

Ye Yun, a PR representative of Didi, told the Global Times on Monday that the company hasn't considered launching the service on Didi Private Car, another car-hailing service provided by Didi, because the private-car hailing business targets upper-income customers who are less sensitive about pricing than Express users.

Didi also announced on Monday that it would start tapping the market for vehicle purchases. According to another statement Didi sent to the Global Times, it would sell 100 Mercedes-Benz vehicles and 100 FAW Toyota cars on its test drive app Didi Shijia on Saturday.

Zhang said that test drives are a form of pre-sale service. Since Didi Shijia has built up a large customer base, it's natural to monetize that resource by extending its service range to car sales.

On Monday, US car-hailing service provider Uber also announced that it would launch an "electric vehicle day" the same day in 13 domestic cities, and passengers who choose to use their electric vehicles will get a range of discounts, according to a statement Uber sent to the Global Times on Monday.

Zhang said, however, that move wouldn't pose a big challenge to Didi.

"Uber has a good reputation in China because of its corporate culture and marketing strategies, but I would say Didi's businesses are both wide and deep in China," he noted.

"It won't be surpassed by Uber, at least in the near future."