Daimler and Geely to set up JV for premium ride-hailing service in China

Daimler Mobility Services and Geely Group Company, Geely Holding Group’s new business entity, announced today that they will form a premium ride-hailing joint venture in China. The 50-50 joint venture (JV) will be headquartered in Hangzhou. The JV will provide ride-hailing mobility services in several Chinese cities using premium vehicles including but not limited to Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

The fleet initially will include Mercedes-Benz S-Class, E-Class and V-Class and Maybach vehicles and could be supplemented by premium electric vehicles of the Geely Group. Financial terms and the investment plans of the JV have not been disclosed at this stage. The implementation of the JV is subject to approval by the merger control authorities.

Klaus Entenmann, CEO of Daimler Financial Services, said: “With Geely Group, we have found an excellent partner to expand our mobility services in China. The joint venture will play a significant role as we continue to enlarge our portfolio and global presence and solidify our strong position in the mobility market.”

An Conghui, president of Geely Holding, said, “We are delighted to have defined terms for a premium ride-hailing joint venture with Daimler Mobility Services. The development of such services, in which both companies already have a presence, forms part of our transformation from a vehicle manufacturer into a global automotive technology group.”

The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding at Daimler headquarters in Stuttgart was attended by An Conghui, Geely Holding President, and Liu Jinliang, President of Geely Group Company, Geely’s new business division, as well as by Klaus Entenmann, CEO Daimler Financial Services AG, and Jörg Lamparter, Head of Mobility Services at Daimler Financial Services AG.

As part of the JV, Geely Group Company and Daimler Mobility Services will be equally represented on the board of the new ride-hailing service, for which the two companies will jointly develop the software infrastructure required to support the business in China.

JV to complement new mobility services
Geely Holding has launched CaoCao, the Chinese domestic ride-hailing service that is claimed to have  more than 17 million registered users, with one million regular active users on the app providing more than 29,000 pure electric vehicles in 28 cities across the country and with over 360,000 completed trips throughout the country on a daily basis.

With the JV, Daimler Mobility Services will enlarge its global presence: As of September 30, 2018, car2go, moovel as well as mytaxi/Intelligent Apps accounted for 26 million customers, according to the company. With car2go and Car2Share, Daimler is currently providing free-floating as well as station-based car-sharing services to over 470,000 customers in China who have completed over 20 million kilometers in car-sharing journeys. The proposed JV is another step in the implementation of the Daimler CASE strategy, with its four pillars Connected, Autonomous, Shared & Service and Electric Drive.  

Also read: Li Shufu-owned Geely Group becomes largest shareholder in Daimler AG