Will Uber increase its presence in China?
Chinese e-hailing app Yidao Yongche has hinted at a new deal with Uber that could see the California-based company increase its presence in the country.
As reported by Reuters, Yidao Yongche yesterday (May 17) posted an image to Chinese microblogging site Weibo featuring a heart connecting its own and Uber’s logos, the date “May 21, 2015”, and words that when translated read: “It’s best to be together”. The picture was later captured and posted to Twitter byTech in Asia journalist Josh Horwitz (scroll down to view).
A potentially huge market, China has provided Uber with some problems in the past. In January, the country’s Ministry of Transport banned unlicensed vehicles from taking passengers for cash using ride-sharing apps. In response, Uber said it had not been banned in China, but would be adopting to the country’s regulations.
Meanwhile, February saw Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache, two of China’s leading apps of its kind, merged to create one of the world’s largest smartphone-based transport services. In response, Yidao Yongche filed an anti-monopoly violation complaint claiming the two companies had broken the law by subsidising taxi rides to provide a service at a low cost to push out rivals.
Uber has yet to officially confirm the partnership with Yidao Yongche.
Uber to announce tie-up with Yidao Yongche, the original UberBlack in China, on Thurs http://t.co/m9nDzNawBU pic.twitter.com/HmueqNi9i5
— Josh Horwitz (@horwitzjosh) May 18, 2015
