![]() The killings led to government pressure on Didi to share real-time data with authorities about its vehicles and drivers, an arrangement the company had long resisted. In 2018, two women passengers were killed by drivers working for Hitch, forcing Didi to suspend operations at its car-pooling offshoot. Its rapid ascent included controversy, however. That year, the company expanded to Australia, Brazil and Mexico as it set its sights on customers outside of its home country. “The revolution of smart travel has just begun… create a world-class tech company!”Īfter 2016, Didi continued to cement its command over Chinese ride-hailing, and by 2018 controlled 90% of the Chinese market. “Reform and innovation always come with a cost,” they wrote. ![]() In a letter to employees after buying his “great rival,” Cheng and company president Jean Liu hailed the legalization as a “milestone.” They said the company’s service had been suspended more than 30 times in various places, and that “countless drivers” had their cars detained and were fined - but added that the country had finally embraced the “dawn of reform.” “Reform and innovation always come with a cost,” Cheng and company president Jean Liu wrote in a letter to employees. And on July 28, 2016, ride-hailing was finally legalized in China. It even reimbursed drivers for the penalties authorities imposed on them for breaking local laws, to keep Didi drivers on the road and retain customers.Ĭhina’s central government at the time encouraged rapid innovation, and ride-hailing was never explicitly banned in China. Didi argued that it was only providing a platform to connect passengers with cars owned by rental agencies or other third parties.ĭidi had learned to navigate this gray zone. ![]() Before the industry was regulated five years ago, many cities accused ride-hailing apps like Didi of running illegal taxi businesses. Unlike traditional taxis, ride-hailing companies don’t require expensive and difficult-to-obtain licenses for cars or drivers. That fueled a boom in ride-hailing apps like Didi. Cab shortages were common, as government-approved taxi operators lobbied to limit the supply of licenses. When Cheng founded Didi, ride-hailing was still a regulatory gray area in China and taxis controlled the market. Wang’s initial investment was worth a billion dollars when Didi went public.ĭidi learned to navigate the regulatory gray zone for ride-hailing services in China. “I was thinking, how about creating a ride-hailing app, so there can be fewer poor losers that get soaked in the rain?” Cheng said, recalling a depressing experience in Beijing when he couldn’t hail a cab for hours during a storm, according to the media outlet.Ĭheng founded Didi with just 100,000 yuan (roughly $15,000) of his own money, and another 700,000 yuan (roughly $110,000) from Wang Gang, an angel investor who supervised Cheng during his tenure at Alibaba. The “pain” led him to think about how to fix the problem. Starting as an entry-level salesperson making the equivalent of about $200 a month, he rose quickly and in seven years became the company’s youngest regional manager.Ĭheng said he created Didi because he was fed up with being unable to get a taxi during a business trip, according to a profile published in June in the Business Times, a Chinese financial news outlet. Before he founded Didi in 2012, Cheng was a sales manager at Alibaba.
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