DiDi seeks to jointly develop tailor-made vehicles with OEMs

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing (DiDi) is seeking to partner with OEMs on the R&D of vehicles tailor-made for its car-hailing services, according to the speech delivered by Chen Ting, senior vice president of DiDi and general manager of Xiaojun Auto Solutions, at the 2019 Global New Energy Vehicle Conference (GNEV10).

“We intend to offer consumers car rental services, while in terms of the car resources, we still wish to join hands with OEMs to build a system that makes our cars more suitable for operation,” said Mr. Chen.

There was a report revealing in June that Nissan and its China partner Dongfeng Motor were in talks with DiDi to launch a joint venture to manage car fleets for the latter's ride-hailing and car-sharing services.

（Photo source: DiDi)

Besides, they were also exploring the probability of Dongfeng Nissan designing and building vehicles tailored for DiDi’s car-hailing service—cars which were likely to be battery-powered, the media outlet citing people familiar with the discussions.

At the end of 2018, DiDi established a joint venture with Volkswagen Group to develop technologies for ride-hailing fleets. The Jiading-based company is 60% owned by DiDi, with the remaining 40% held by Volkswagen (China) Investment Co., Ltd., according to the company information search platform Tianyancha.

Volkswagen stated that it built the joint venture with Didi to explore and develop fleet operation business. The joint venture would focus on fleet operation, fleet sale, fleet management and repair & maintenance services. Besides, it was about to explore fleet leasing business and conduct extensive discussion with industry leading companies on smart mobility business.

Moreover, in January, 2019, Beijing Electric Vehicle, a unit of state-owned Chinese automaker BAIC Group, also found a joint venture with Didi to develop customized EVs and connected car systems for Didi's ride-hailing fleet.

“We are cooperating with some OEMs to join the development of tailor-made vehicles. We hope to power vehicles with technologies, and offer more convenient and safer mobility services,” said Mr. Chen.

Aside from the collaboration with OEMs, DiDi are also in talks with auto suppliers to build a closed loop integrating car rental, supply, maintenance and charging services, according to Chen.