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# Ride-Hailing Apps Battle It Out In China

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<!-- video src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/sp9HX5SG.m3u8" -->
## Video: Ride-Hailing Apps Battle It Out In China

[Watch (HLS stream): Ride-Hailing Apps Battle It Out In China](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/sp9HX5SG.m3u8) (1:29)

![Ride-Hailing Apps Battle It Out In China](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/sp9HX5SG/poster.jpg?width=720)

_Published 2015-09-03. Uber is trying to expand to China, but competition there from native ride-hailing app Didi Kuaidi is making that tough._


---

Jul 27, 2023 6:46 PM UTC

---

## More From This Series

[All Videos](https://time.com/video/)

[In the Driver's Seat: 5 Apps for a Ride-Sharing Payday](/video/J2pFPfJ1/)

### In the Driver's Seat: 5 Apps for a Ride-Sharing Payday

[Uber Opens Up Its Ride Data To Boston](/video/HUXGD63G/)

### Uber Opens Up Its Ride Data To Boston

[A Dollar For a Ride and a Show](/video/iCecVwAL/)

### A Dollar For a Ride and a Show

---


## Transcript

Two major ride handling companies are battling it out to win business, and it's getting ugly. The two contestants are Uber and DDQualD. DDQualD which translates to Beep Beep Fast Cab, has been the reigning champ in the game of private transportation, thanks in part to backing from Chinese Internet giants Ali Baba and Tinsent. The native car service employs around 4, 000 people and operates in more than 80 Chinese cities. By comparison in China, Uber only has 200 employees and operates in 16 cities. But Uber's not so quiet plans to expand have caused some trouble. Uber is racking up investor money and plans to spend 1 billion dollars to gain some market share in the country.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick told investors you're not going to find a country with 80- plus cities over five million people anywhere else. The vastness of the opportunities really isn't matched in any other market. But even as Uber and Didi Kuaidi are competing to take Chinese passengers where they need to go, in most Chinese cities, ride hailing companies are actually illegal. Government officials have started to crack down on drivers and fine them. Blaming them for traffic congestion and accusing them of avoiding taxes but drivers still really want to work for both DD quality and Uber. The companies are offering drivers weekly bonuses to stay competitive and that's not even the worst of it.

Uber thinks that one of the internet companies that back CD quality deleted Uber from it's popular messaging app ReChat Which made it harder for Uber to find riders, as [ UNKNOWN ] says competing for drivers and customers in China is not for the faint of heart.

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