Currently, the conglomerate unveiled a financial services module in its China app.
Chinese ride-sharing, artificial intelligence, and autonomous technology conglomerate, DiDi Chuxing has recently launched a suite of financial products that include crowd-funding and lending, as it intends to diversify outside the ride-hailing business. The move aims improving safety on its platform as well as operating efficiency.
Reportedly, DiDi’s new products were tested in 10 cities and have now been introduced nationwide. They include wealth management, credit and lending, and crowd-funding for critical illnesses, all aimed at short-term, temporary workers.
DiDi’s new offerings to compete with Alibaba
The new offerings presented by DiDi compete with investor Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and technology peer Tencent Holdings Ltd. They also come as rivals including other Alibaba-backed firms have been making a renewed push in a ride-hailing market dominated by DiDi, aiming to tap unmet demand brought about by regulatory change.
According to DiDi, through its auto-financing solutions, the finance arm will work with its new auto-solutions business to expand a quality supply base for China’s vibrant mobility market by creating effective links between top-tier drivers and partners and a high-quality supply of new energy vehicles through competitive and reliable purchasing, leasing, trading and financing services.
In an overall perspective, the newly launched financial services are expected to help DiDi build a stronger network of collaboration and shared interests and in turn, a tighter and more efficient transportation ecosystem.
DiDi, whose backers include U.S. peer Uber Technologies Inc, Apple Inc, and Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp, is reshuffling its domestic business as it expands globally with new services in South America and Australia.
DiDi rolls-out taxi-hailing service in Japan
The service has recently gone live in Osaka, the city of nearly nine million people, and parts of the surrounding area including Kansai International Airport. The Didi Japan app links passengers up with drivers from 10 local taxi companies, and Didi informed it will use an AI-based dispatch and fleet management system for efficiency.
Didi entered Japan in partnership with SoftBank, said it plans to expand the service to major cities including Kyoto, Fukuoka, and Tokyo in the near future. Moreover, the Chinese MNC is going to stick to license taxis and not private cars because the latter is banned in Japan. Still, the traditional taxi industry is big business in Japan.
