Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing’s plans to conquer Uber in South America are revealed
- Didi is recruiting managers in Chile, Peru and Colombia, according to job postings and a company official
- The expansion could spell trouble for Uber as it prepares to go public
Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing is planning to take on US rival Uber in some of Latin America’s fastest-growing markets, recruiting managers in Chile, Peru and Colombia, according to job postings and a company official.
Didi has moved senior executives from China to lead its expansion in markets like Chile and Peru, and began in recent weeks advertising for driver operations, crisis management, marketing and business development personnel in those countries, an analysis of LinkedIn postings show.
Didi’s widening expansion, if successful, could make for a bumpier ride for San Francisco-based Uber Technologies Inc in Latin America, one of its fastest growth regions, as it gets ready to go public as soon as later this year.
The two firms are already battling in Brazil, where Didi bought local start-up 99 in January last year, and Mexico, where the Chinese firm lured drivers with higher pay and bonuses for signing up other drivers and passengers.
Didi said to begin major job cuts as it overhauls ride-hailing business in China after safety backlash
Didi is China’s dominant ride-hailing firm and is backed by investors including Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. In 2016, Didi bought Uber’s local Chinese operations following a bruising two-year battle for domination in China.