Didi Chuxing, China’s Uber, is building countrywide charging network to drive into EV future

Didi Chuxing, dubbed as the Chinese equivalent to Uber Technologies, announced on Thursday that it has set up a joint venture to build a charging network for universal use across the country, accelerating China’s drive towards global supremacy in electric cars.

Didi, operator of the world’s largest ride-hailing services platform with more than 450 million users, has teamed up with Beijing-based Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization (GEIDCO) to provide charging networks, battery reuse and other services in a bid to popularise electric vehicles (EV). GEIDCO is a Beijing-based non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting sustainable development of energy worldwide. However, its role in the joint venture is unclear.

Without revealing the size of the joint venture or its investment, Didi said in a statement that it has already started working on building an EV charging system called Orange Energy, a service designed to interconnect existing charging stations and put them on Didi’s platform.

“By opening the system to partners around China, we will first provide charging services for the 260,000 EVs on our own platform and later serve families and the public with the expansion of the infrastructure,” said Cheng Wei, founder and chief executive of Didi.

Headquartered in Beijing, Didi, which acquired Uber’s China business last year, has been ramping up effort in artificial intelligence research as well as environmentally-friendly mobility technologies, as it sees autonomous driving and green energy cars are the main directions for future ride-sharing business.