In the next few months, Lyft users will be able to call rides using the Chinese taxi-hailing app, Didi Chuxing, in China. The recent partnership between Lyft and Didi Chuxing will allow users in the US and China to hail rides using their default app.
John Zimmer, the CEO of Lyft, announced that users will be able to open Lyft in China, and hail rides through Didi Chuxing’s network of cars. The reverse will also ring true: for Chinese Didi users, Lyft cars will be available to them in the US.
The official partnership was made in December 2015, between ride-hailing companies Lyft, Ola, GrabTaxi, and Didi Chuxing. The companies stated their partnership as a global alliance where users of all allied companies can use their home country’s ride-hailing app all over the world.
In September 2015, the booming Chinese ride-hailing app invested USD100 million into Lyft. Zimmer hopes that the partnership with Didi Chuxing will push Lyft domestic usership in the US. The US app currently competes with popular ride-hailing app, Uber.
Lyft’s partnership with Didi Chuxing will also help introduce the US company into China, without unleashing it into the ferociously competitive ride-hailing market in China. Uber will also act as Lyft’s major competitor in China, despite experiencing issues with other Chinese companies.
Whether or not this partnership will secure Lyft's force in China's ride-hailing market, Didi Chuxing's financial backing should help.
[Image via TechNode]
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