LeEco unit clinches car-hailing license as Hutchison Telecom seeks payment

Yidao Yongche, the premium Chinese ride-sharing services provider controlled by LeEco, has obtained an official online car-hailing operating license from the Beijing government.

Jia Yueting, the founder and chairman of internet conglomerate LeEco, announced that development as “a historic turn” for the company through his official Weibo account on Monday.

The license, which was issued by the Transport Administration Bureau of the Beijing Municipal Transportation Commission, allows the Beijing Oriental Cheyun Information Technology – the official trade name of Yidao – to run car-hailing businesses in mainland China for four years, from May 8 this year to May 7, 2021, Jia’s Weibo post showed.

It is the first such license obtained by a non-government owned company, and a consumer-to-consumer car-hailing platform in Beijing, he said.

Prior to Yidao, four other Chinese car-hailing platform operators – including domestic industry leader Didi Chuxing – had obtained licenses in different cities.

That followed Chinese regulators’ initiative in July last year to tighten car-hailing services across the country by requiring operators to apply for formal accreditation and operating licenses.