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Ride-Sharing Company Didi’s Only Way to Survive
Article

Ride-Sharing Company Didi’s Only Way to Survive

My Forty Two, 2018

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Analytical
  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

Meituan, a Chinese life services and group-buying company, recently launched a ride-hailing service in Nanjing and Shanghai, challenging industry leader Didi Chuxing. In this article, Qu Kai and Ji Wenyi, writers from WeChat wemedia platform My Forty Two, dissect the factors shaping the ride-hailing service industry and explain why Didi needs to rethink its long-term strategy to remain profitable. getAbstract recommends this post to global investors, as well as business analysts and start-up enthusiasts.

Summary

In March 2018, China’s largest life services and group-buying company Meituan officially crossed into ride-share company Didi Chuxing’s territory. Within a few days of launching in Shanghai, Meituan’s ride-hailing services grabbed more than 30% of the market. This should be a wake-up call for Didi that its monopoly is under attack. Didi crossed over into food delivery in the same month, fighting head-on against Meituan in that market as well. While both companies argue that they have the stronger infrastructure and more resources in this battle, Meituan’s challenge has revealed Didi’s weaknesses.  Didi needs to rethink its long-term strategy for three reasons:

  1. The barrier to entry in the ride-hailing service is low...

About the Authors

Qu Kai and Ji Wenyi are writers for My Forty Two, a WeChat wemedia account analyzing business, technology, venture capital and the humanities.