Didi Chuxing, Auto Partners Form Global Carsharing Alliance

Didi Chuxing has joined 31 of its auto industry partners to launch the Didi Auto Alliance (D-Alliance or the Alliance). For the first time, the Alliance will bring together resources and the strengths of the new mobility sector with those of key links in the automotive industry chain, with the aim to develop a full-capacity vehicle operator platform designed to embrace the upcoming transportation revolution.  

The 31 founding partners span the areas of OEM, parts and components manufacturing, electric vehicle services, and digital map services, and include: BAIC, Bosch, BYD, CATL, Changan Automobile, Chery, CUSC, CHJ Automotive, Continental, DFAC, Dongfeng Yueda Kia, FAW, GAC, Geely, Hanteng, Hawtai, JAC, Leapmotor, NavInfo, NEVS, Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, SAIC Motor Passenger Vehicle, SKIO, Sound Group, Tellus Power Group, TELD, Toyota, Volkswagen Group China, WM Motor, Eastone Auto, and Zotye.

Partners believe the project is crucial in creating a user- and owner-centered auto ecosystem that is oriented towards a future industry driven by coordinated advances in new energy vehicles, intelligent driving technologies, and shared mobility modes.

Related Content: Didi Chuxing Plans Autonomous Ride-Sharing Platform

“The Didi Auto Alliance will become a provider of integrated transportation services combining auto leasing and sales, auto finance, auto service, fleet operation and car-sharing solutions in China and beyond,” Cheng Wei, founder and CEO of Didi Chuxing, said in a statement. “China could play a pivotal role in transforming the existing automotive and transportation structure that has been in place for over a hundred years."

Since it outlined an automobile business strategy in 2015, Didi has grown beyond providing one-stop passenger mobility services to build out an auto service platform that integrates leasing, sales, auto finance, refueling, and maintenance services. 

The strategic space connecting the world’s largest passenger and the driver services is ideal for developing integrated automobile operation programs for commercialization. Didi’s move also coincides with active initiatives at OEMs and other auto industry players to deepen downstream engagement in car-operating businesses.

At the Alliance’s launch event, Didi and partners outlined the key elements of the partnership framework: 

• DiDi will leverage its capacities, including big-data analytics, business scale, operational expertise, and network resources, to develop with partners integrated auto solutions on its car leasing, carsharing, and after-service platforms. 
• The Alliance supports collaboration throughout the design, manufacturing, operation, and after-service processes between OEMs and Didi to develop vehicle models for shared mobility sectors, drawing on the deep expertise of OEMs in vehicle safety and functionality, when combined with Didi’s knowledge of mobility use patterns. 
• The Alliance will work with EV charging businesses to promote the adoption of new energy vehicles in the shared transportation scenario. As the operator of the world’s largest EV fleet, Didi aims to have 10 million EVs on its platform by 2028. The Alliance will optimize the planning, construction, and operation of charging facilities with DiDi’s data capabilities to improve efficiency and capture the needs of heavy-use EV owners. 
• The Didi Auto Alliance enables coordination between industry associations, enterprises and regulatory bodies, including the National New Energy Innovation Center, to develop unified standards for the design and manufacturing of new energy vehicles, development of intelligent driving technologies, and planning of charging facilities. 

The creation of the Alliance could serve 2 billion global users in the next decade, and is opening up the space for collaboration between the internet-based transportation and the automobile industries. 

Related Content: Volkswagen, Didi Chuxing in Talks to Co-Create Autonomous Vehicles