Uber announces ambitious new Chinese expansion target as it battles to keep pace with larger rival
The ride-hailing app is investing heavily in the region as fights it out with local rival Didi Kuaidi.
Uber has set itself a target of expanding into 100 more Chinese cities over the next year as it aims to dominate what it hopes will be the world’s largest internet-linked transport market.
The ride hailing app’s chief executive, Travis Kalanick, made the announcement at an event in Beijing just one day after the company had raised $1.2bn in funding.
Uber currently operates in 20 Chinese cities and the latest expansion target is double that which was set three months ago however the company is in fierce competition with its larger rival, Didi Kuaidi, which has just brought in $3bn in funding.
The two firms are investing heavily in the region, betting on China’s smartphone based transport market becoming the most biggest and most lucrative in the world. Expansion and growth will be helped by the reassurance that the Chinese government will implement new regulations which will officially govern ride-hailing service in China.
At the event Kalanick was keen to promote the company’s relationship with the Chinese government and their shared vision for the future. He said that progress was something that the government was “incredibly open to” in terms of “more jobs and less pollution, less congestion on the streets, better utilization of infrastructure,” and made use of some communist party rhetoric in saying the progress should be “in harmony with stability”.
He also discussed the company’s success so far, saying that “when we started this year, we were about one percent market share. Today, nine months later, we're looking at about 30 to 35 percent market share". The comment remains somewhat unclear as it is not known weather this was in reference to all ride-hailing services including taxis, where Didi Kuaidi dominates, or just for private cars.