Ride-hailing company T3 charges ahead in race to overtake stalled Didi
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After ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing was removed from Chinese app stores and subject to a government investigation of alleged user privacy violations, competitors have scrambled for a piece of its 90% market share. A star-studded venture named T3 could be on pace to end up in first.
- Alibaba, Tencent, and three state-owned car makers back T3, which launched two years ago. With 1.5 million rides a day last month, T3 overtook the industry’s number three player, Meituan, with 1.2 million.
- T3 also just raised a fresh 5 billion yuan ($773.8 million).
- Long road ahead: Despite the app ban, Didi is still way ahead, providing (in Chinese) around 20 million rides a day, since existing users are still allowed to use the service.
On the other hand: With Didi’s orders declining amid the prolonged cybersecurity review, T3 thinks it has the winning strategy: be a goody two-shoes and comply with new rules. In recent months, its compliance rate, according to the Ministry of Transport, is first among its competitors, and nearly twice Didi’s at 70-80%. Perhaps rule-followers are the champions of China’s new economy?
