The anti-Uber global alliance of ride-hailing companies has now officially taken shape.
On Thursday, Lyft Inc, a ride-hailing start-up based in the US, announced a coalition with GrabTaxi, Ola and Didi Kuaidi (滴滴快的), three of the largest ride-hailing companies in Asia. Under a partnership, the companies can operate in one another’s home countries, forging new pathways for each in markets they have yet to tap into.
“This is the right international expansion strategy — for us, our users and our investors,” said John Zimmer, president and co-founder of Lyft, which is based in San Francisco and operates entirely in the US.
Photo: AFP
The alliance takes aim at Uber Technologies Inc, the world’s largest ride-hailing company. Uber operates in 67 countries and has become synonymous with the business of people ordering rides from their smartphones.
The company, which has already raised more than US$7 billion, is also close to completing a new round of US$2.1 billion in funding, with the investment valuing Uber at US$62.5 billion. The New York Times reported on the funding plans in October.
Many of Uber’s competitors are far smaller and operate in just one or two markets. Lyft, which is currently seeking US$500 million in funding at a valuation of US$4 billion, operates in more than 60 cities in the US, for instance.
By banding together, the companies aim to achieve more scale and more service adoption in relatively short amounts of time. Partnerships are less expensive than having to spend to establish operations in multiple markets.
The companies declined to reveal financial details of their partnership.
The alliance has been forming over the last few months. In September, Lyft teamed with Didi, the Chinese ride-hailing behemoth, to provide service to Chinese Didi Kuaidi app users who enter the US.
The move also lets Lyft users find rides in China using the Lyft app; the requests are fulfilled by Didi Kuaidi drivers.
Ola is a ride-hailing company in India, and GrabTaxi operates in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.
Under the partnership, Lyft users traveling to India would be able to open the Lyft app and have local rides supplied by Ola.
In Southeast Asian countries, Lyft would have a similar arrangement with GrabTaxi.
“The partnership with Lyft, GrabTaxi and Ola allows Chinese users unprecedented ease of international travel and helps each of us improve our own services, leveraging our collective technology and expertise,” Didi Kuaidi chief executive Cheng Wei (程維) said in a statement. “This is a win for the diversity and vitality of the global ride-share industry.”
GrabTaxi chief executive Anthony Tan (陳炳耀) echoed the sentiment.
“We admire all three companies and have similar goals to improve the lives of drivers and passengers,” Tan said in a statement.
The partnership template might not become standard practice for Lyft. In an interview, Zimmer said the announcement did not signal a one-size-fits-all strategy.
“These are specific to these geographies,” he said. “You should expect us to have different strategies for different parts of the world.”
Lyft has not revealed any strategy for entering Europe, a market in which Uber is struggling with some local regulators and incumbents like BlaBlaCar, which raised US$200 million in September.
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