Daimler, Geely Plan Ride-Hailing Service in China

Daimler AG and Geely Group have formed a 50:50 venture to introduce their own ride-hailing service in China, Reuters reports.

The partners, who didn’t disclose financial details, envision a premium service based in Hangzhou. The business will feature Mercedes-Benz S-Class large sedans, E-Class sporty sedans, V-class vans but also could include models by other brands.

Reuters says the agreement signals a thaw in Daimler’s apprehension about partnering with Geely after Li Shufu, the Chinese company’s chairman, acquired nearly 10% of Daimler in February. Geely is now Daimler’s largest shareholder, followed by the Kuwait Investment Authority (6.8%) and New York City-based BlackRock Inc. (6%).

The new service will be deployed initially in a handful of unspecified Chinese cities. The country’s ride-hailing market is dominated by DiDi Chuxing.

The joint venture will complement Geely’s CaoCao ride-hailing service, which has 17 million registered users in China. Daimler, which is in the process of merging its mobility services with rival BMW AG, operates several car- and ride-sharing services around the world, including car2go, Car2Share, Moovel and MyTaxi.