The operator of one of China’s leading taxi-booking apps, Kuaidi Dache (快的打車), has raised US$600 million for expansion, a statement said yesterday, even as the Chinese government tightens control over such services.
Heavyweight investors in the latest round of financing for Travice Inc included Japan’s Softbank Corp, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴) and investment firm Tiger Global Management, the joint statement said.
Investment in taxi and car-booking apps has become a proxy war among China’s Internet giants. Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊), operator of the popular messaging app WeChat and a rival of Alibaba, has invested in another Chinese company, Didi Dache (滴滴打車).
Meanwhile, Chinese search engine Baidu Inc (百度) last month bought a stake in Uber Technologies Inc, as the US firm seeks to expand in China.
Kuaidi Dache, based in the eastern city of Hangzhou, claims 200 million users in more than 300 Chinese cities and calls on a fleet of more than 1 million vehicles, according to the statement.
Consultancy Analysys International estimated in November last year that Kuaidi Dache has a 54.4 percent market share in China.
The government has allowed these types of booking apps, but recently banned their use for summoning private vehicles, state media have reported.
Many cities are even regulating their use for taxis, including barring such apps during peak traffic periods or banning drivers from using them while operating vehicles out of safety concerns.
Booking apps have also contributed to a wave of taxi strikes across the country in recent days, including the northeastern city of Shenyang, as well as Jinan and Nanjing in eastern China, Xinhua news agency reported.
Taxi drivers say their business has been hurt by competition from booking apps used for private cars and vehicles from auto rental firms.
The Chinese Ministry of Transport said last week that it would monitor the situation.
“Various kinds of ‘specialized car’ software companies should respect the rules of the transport market, [and] take responsibility to prohibit private cars from entering and operating on the platform,” a media report posted on the ministry’s Web site said.
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