Uber and the Celestial Empire: the service begins work in 100 Chinese cities

Photo: Kommersant

Uber taxi service management thinks globally. Uber CEO Travis Kalanik said the company plans to begin work in another 100 Chinese cities in the coming year, Kommersant reports . Now Uber works in 20 cities of China.

Kalanik made his statement in Beijing at an event organized by one of Uber's partners, Baidu. Earlier, the company published information that local investors provided $ 1.2 billion to the Chinese service division. Initially, Uber planned to start work in 50 cities, but in connection with receiving investments, plans changed upwards.

At the same time, Uber faces serious competition in China - in particular, the Didi Kuaidi service, which recently received as much as $ 3 billion from investors. Nevertheless, the Uber CEO claims great potential for the growth of his company in China. “At the beginning of 2015, we had 1% of the Chinese taxi market. Now our market share is 30–35%, ”the entrepreneur said.

As mentioned above, Uid's main business partner in China is Baidu. The cooperation of both companies is not accidental. “So we can get acquainted and establish contacts with the city authorities, and the city authorities, in turn, can get acquainted with our work and understand what innovations and progress we bring to the life of their cities,” said the head of Uber.