Uber to Sell China Business to Rival Didi After Losing Billions

Post by rahimnathwani » Mon, Aug 01, 2016, 7:25 AM UTC

johnloeber wrote: post #43

rahimnathwani wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The major Chinese cities generally have very developed and efficient systems of mass public transit, reducing demand for rideshares (and cars in general)" This depends on your frame of reference. If you're comparing with SF, sure. If you're comparing with London or New York, less so. In London, the underground is faster than private car for many (most?) daytime journeys. In Beijing and Shanghai, a private car is alm…

Regarding the second point: sorry, I wasn't being clear. I think that the pricing probably goes like this: owning/operating a car > using a rideshare > using a personal scooter > using a personal bicycle. You have to keep in mind that bicycles, scooters, and other small vehicles unsuitable for ridesharing are very popular in China. Since few people own and operate cars, rideshares don't have a large market to undercu…

Post by netcan » Mon, Aug 01, 2016, 7:38 AM UTC

wildmusings wrote: post #8

piyushpr134 wrote: post #4

Merge is such a cute word. "Uber lost China and had to sell to Didi" is more like it

Yes, this is a face-saving use of language. Most "mergers" that you hear of are actually acquisitions.

Post by sievebrain » Mon, Aug 01, 2016, 7:41 AM UTC

adventured wrote: post #61

ravivyas wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

China is a whole different market. Nothing can be extrapolated from China. Amazon lost in China, but is doing well in India.

And of course infamously Google and Facebook dominate most of the planet, but can't compete in China (and Baidu can't manage to do much outside of China).

Post by kuschku » Mon, Aug 01, 2016, 7:48 AM UTC

argonaut wrote: post #42

erdevs wrote: post #24

Well played by Didi. This was a years-long chess game with enormous stakes and Didi came out winning. Make no mistake, Uber's goal was absolutely to dominate in China, if they could. That was a big part of their pitch to investors over the past two years. This deal is an admission of defeat and a retreat from competition, salvaging what value they could in the process. I would imagine this speaks to mounting pressure…

> are clearly still abysmal in almost all markets. Obviously we can't take their statements at face value, but Uber seems to be claiming they are profitable in most markets.

Post by seanmcdirmid » Mon, Aug 01, 2016, 7:51 AM UTC

theseadroid wrote: post #44

rahimnathwani wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The major Chinese cities generally have very developed and efficient systems of mass public transit, reducing demand for rideshares (and cars in general)" This depends on your frame of reference. If you're comparing with SF, sure. If you're comparing with London or New York, less so. In London, the underground is faster than private car for many (most?) daytime journeys. In Beijing and Shanghai, a private car is alm…

Lived in Beijing for 2 decades. I think in Beijing and Shanghai, a private car is almost always slower than their subway systems. Beijing subway network has 18 lines, 334 stations and 554 km (344 mi) of track in operation and is the second longest subway system in the world after the Shanghai Metro (588 kilometres). Beijing subway also has extensive expansion plans call for 1,050 km (650 mi) of track by 2020. https:/…