Toyota invests US$600m in Didi Chuxing, sets up new mobility joint venture in China
- The collaboration will allow Toyota and Didi to fully implement a range of services they have been developing in the country
Toyota Motor Corp will invest US$600 million in Didi Chuxing and establish a new joint venture for mobility services with the Chinese ride-hailing giant as competition in its home market intensifies.
That collaboration will be set up with GAC Toyota Motor Co, the Japanese car maker’s automotive manufacturing venture based in the southern coastal city of Guangzhou, and focus on providing “quality car maintenance support and safe driving guidance to ride-hailing drivers” on the mainland, according to a joint statement released on Thursday.
Toyota and Didi said their closer ties will allow them to expand adoption in China of the Japanese car maker’s proprietary Mobility Services Platform, which includes vehicle management, maintenance, insurance and financing for both ride-hailing drivers and consumers.
“We look forward to combining Didi’s expertise in AI-based large-scale mobility operations and Toyota’s leading connected vehicle technology to build a next-generation intelligent transportation framework for sustainable cities,” said Stephen Zhu, a senior vice-president at Didi, in the statement.
The capital infusion and increased collaboration with Toyota have come as Didi – in which Apple, Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings are major investors – is battling new competition from broader online platforms.
Earlier this month, new ride-hailing start-up T3 launched its trial operation in Nanjing, capital of the eastern coastal province of Jiangsu. It is backed by Alibaba, Tencent, online retailer Suning.com and state-owned car makers Dongfeng Motor Corp and FAW Group.