Chinese automaker, Geely, to enter the ride-hailing fray
China's Geely Holding Group plans to launch a high-end car rental and ride-hailing app, a spokesman said yesterday, entering a business hotly contested by Uber and China's Didi Kuaidi. Geely Holding, owner of automaker Geely Automobile Holdings, has established a subsidiary to develop the service called Caocao, according to a spokesman, however he declined to say how much Geely would invest in the service. Caocao aims to be more upmarket than Uber, offering both rides and rental cars with a variety of add-on services, and will launch only in selected cities. "We can provide driver, we can provide a translator, we can provide a body guard if you need," said the spokesman. Lastly, the service will incorporate electric vehicles, but there is no information about whether that will mean Caocao’s cars will be exclusively electric.

Called Caocao, the service will compete with both Uber and Didi Kuaidi

Chinese auto manufacturer Geely Holding Group is planning to enter the ride-hailing market with an ambitious upmarket rental service called ‘Caocao’.

The service will compete with both Uber and Didi Kuaidi, who have expanded extensively into the more pricey black car domain. Caocao will focus on rentals and ride-hailing, with a selection of add-on services.

In an interview with Reuters, Geely spokesperson Victor Yang said, “We can provide driver, we can provide a translator, we can provide a body guard,” alluding to some of the potential add-on services.

Geely has officially established the subsidiary responsible for the new service. News of the Caocao was first reported by state media outlet Xinhua, though no information on the project’s funding was disclosed.

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Competition in China’s ride-hailing market stiffened in 2012, with a series of coalitions forming. The year kicked off with a merger between Tencent-backed Didi and Alibaba’s Kuaidi, which went on to settle a US$3 billion funding round over the summer.

Uber has consolidated its place in the market through a strategic partnership with Baidu. The US-based company confirmed a US$1.2 billion funding round in September.

Geely is seeking to differentiate Caocao by catering to a high-end market. Other ride-hailing services have also attempted to avoid sharing turf with Didi Kuaidi and Uber. eDaijia, a designated driver app that provides chauffeur services, recently cut 20 per cent of its staff in order to stay competitive as Didi launched a similar service.

eDaijia also entered a strategic partnership with similar chauffeur service UCAR, consolidating resources in the face of rising competition.

Technode reached out to Geely for comment on Wednesday evening.

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