Tag Archives: Yidao Yongche

CONSUMER: Car Inc Steps Up Uber Challenge, Dumped by Hertz

Bottom line: Hertz’s sale of its Car Inc stake reflects the Chinese company’s new focus on hired car services, and could see Car Inc fall into the red as its UCar affiliate vies with Uber and Didi Kuaidi in the fiercely competitive market.

Hertz dumps Car Inc

A complex transaction involving Car Inc (HKEx: 699) is making the headlines as the new week begins, reflecting a transformation from its roots as a rental car specialist into a hired car services company competing with Uber and Didi Kuaidi. The deal will see former strategic stakeholder Hertz (NYSE: HTZ) sell most of its stake in the company to UCar, Car Inc’s hired car services affiliate. At the same time, Car Inc’s chairman and one of its largest shareholders will also sell his stake in the company to UCar, which will become one of Car Inc’s biggest shareholders.

There’s no explanation for the shuffle in the announcement, but it does seem to show that Car Inc’s Chairman Charles Lu wants to move his company more quickly into the hired car services sector, which is growing faster but is also fiercely competitive. That would explain Hertz’s decision to sell its stake, since Hertz is a global rental car company that probably has little interest in China’s ultra competitive hired car services market. Read Full Post…

MEDIA: LeTV Follows Xiaomi Road With Yidao Car Investment

Bottom line: LeTV’s latest hired car services investment and high-profile poaching of top talent from a rival look similar to the recent rapid rise and sputtering of Xiaomi, and the company could follow a similar trajectory by this time next year.

LeTV steals top talent from Youku Tudou

After watching the meteoric rise of online video sensation LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104) over the past year, I’m quickly tiring of this company and its hyperactive diversification strategy. The latest move in that drive is taking LeTV onto the road, with word the company is investing a hefty $700 million for a controlling stake of struggling private car services firm Yidao Yongche.

At the same time, other media are reporting that LeTV has just stolen a top executive from chief rival Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU), which announced last week it has received a buyout offer from e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA). Anyone feeling a sense of deja vu from these latest 2 LeTV headlines, and from LeTV’s meteoric rise in general, would be correct. Read Full Post…

INTERNET: Uber Gets New China Backer, Yidao Slips

Bottom line: Uber’s latest mega funding from a Chinese investor demonstrates its determination to stay in China, while Yidao’s marginalization could force it to sell itself to an Uber-Baidu alliance at a bargain price.

Hillhouse eyes Uber investment

The race for supremacy in China’s hired car services market is taking several new twists, with reports that US giant Uber is close to landing a major new funding from a Chinese backer as it shows no signs of leaving the market. At the same time, intense competition could be close to claiming its first big victim, with separate reports saying Yidao Yongche has made major layoffs as it struggles to keep up with Uber and homegrown Chinese giant Didi Kuaidi.

The hired car services story in China has been a noisy one, upsetting a stodgy industry that was mostly dominated for years by traditional taxis. But a new generation of companies are taking advantage of global positioning technology to offer location based services (LBS) that allow customers to easily find and book hired private cars that are nearby and also cheaper than taxis. That potent combination has resulted in a “democratization” of hired car services, which were usually considered a semi-luxury but are now increasingly used by people as an affordable substitute for public transportation. Read Full Post…

IPOs: Didi Kuaidi Steers Towards IPO, But Where?

Bottom line: Didi Kuaidi’s IPO could come as early as the fourth quarter, with Hong Kong, China and New York standing equal chances of winning what could be the year’s biggest China Internet listing, worth up to $2 billion.

Didi Kuaidi to list in Q4

Just days after launching a massive promotion to attract new customers to its private hired car services, Didi Kuaidi is reportedly starting the process that could end with a major IPO for China’s largest taxi app operator by year end. Such a development wouldn’t come as a huge surprise, following the company’s formation earlier this year through the merger of 2 bitter rivals to create a Chinese market leader reportedly valued at up to $9 billion.

But equally interesting will be where this fast-driving company chooses to list. Just a year ago the answer would have almost certainly been New York, which is where most of China’s top Internet companies are traded. But a recent boom in China’s own stock markets and a new program that allows mainland investors to buy Hong Kong stocks have made Chinese Internet companies start to seriously consider both of these markets for IPOs as well. Read Full Post…

INTERNET: Car Giant Rises In Uber-Baidu-Yidao Yongche Tie-Up

Bottom line: A Yidao Yongche merger with Uber China continues the rapid consolidation in China’s hired car services, which could be followed soon by a successful bid by Uber and Baidu for Nokia’s digital mapping division.

Yidao Yongche to merge with Uber China

Rapid consolidation is taking place in China’s hired car services market, with word that a new alliance is shaping up between major local player Yidao Yongche and an existing tie-up between global giant Uber and local Internet search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU). As a longtime Chinese Internet watcher, I’m quite surprised at the sudden and rapid speed of consolidation in this particular sector, since such consolidation in other areas tends to be a slow and painful process that often takes years.

A major factor behind this sudden and rapid consolidation could be the participation by all 3 of China’s top Internet players, including Baidu, alongside social networking giant Tencent (HKEx: 700) and e-commerce leader Alibaba (NYSE: BABA). Two of those companies are also involved in a related headline that is seeing Baidu and Tencent making separate bids for the digital mapping division being sold off by former cellphone giant Nokia (Helsinki: NOK1V). Read Full Post…