Didi Dreams Big with its D-Alliance
On April 24, China’s most popular ride-hailing service provider Didi Chuxing held a launch event of the DiDi Auto Alliance (D-Alliance), aiming to further its influence on the future of transportation.
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On the morning of April 24, China’s most popular ride-hailing service provider Didi Chuxing held a launch event of the DiDi Auto Alliance (D-Alliance), aiming to further its influence on the future of transportation. With D-Alliance, Didi is planning to optimize its current services as well as widen the scope of its businesses to include smart car R&D, new energy vehicle, construction of charging facilities and more. The introduction of D-alliance is the beginning of Didi’s endeavor to create an auto ecological system of upstream and downstream suppliers and manufacturers, which is to lay the foundations for the company’s expansion to take place.
As one of the largest online smart travel platforms and auto service operators, Didi has served over 450 million users on a global scale. In the future, the platform will continue to play an essential role as an auto operator that integrates auto-related services including leasing, sales, auto finance, refuel and maintenance. Its “torrent strategy”, combined with new progress in big data and new energy vehicles is expected to bring groundbreaking changes to the auto industry.
According to founder and CEO of Didi, Cheng Wei, the “torrent strategy” stands for the convergence of various parties and resources, and together they form an irresistable force resembling a colossal torrent. During his speech, he mentioned the three visions of Didi. The first vision is about going global. Considering its latest penetration into the Mexican market, Didi aims to become the largest travel platform in the next ten years. Secondly, it will strive to provide standardized and specialized auto operation services. Thirdly, it wishes to take the lead in smart transportation technologies. The intelligent traffic lights developed by Didi have already been put into use in many major cities.
“China could play a pivotal role in transforming the existing automotive and transportation structure that has been in place for over a hundred years. D-Alliance is a gateway for our transportation industry to transform itself from a global leader in scale, to a global leader in innovation,” said Cheng.
As for more detailed strategies, Yang Jun, Vice President of Didi, talked about D1, the ongoing project of the company. Safe travel has always been a top priority for Didi. With the help of AI technology, the rate of accident for car sharing has been reduced by 40%. As for cost, the average operation cost for Didi per kilometer is now 1.5 yuan and is expected to be cut down by another 50% in the near future.
Presidents and CEOs of renowned car manufacturers such as Guangzhou Automobile Group and BYD Company Limited also joined roundtable discussions hosted by the president of Didi, Jean Liu. Other founding partners of D-Alliance present at the launch include Changan Automobile, Chery, Continental, Dongfeng Yueda Kia, Toyota, Geely, and so on.
During the roundtable discussions, Jean Liu mentioned her wish to learn to drive again, as her driving license has been expired. A speaker then replied with a sense of humor that there might be no need to learn to drive in ten years’ time with the rapid development of smart driving.
This is also an implication that Didi will further cooperate with members of D-Alliance in the R&D of smart driving and construction of charging facilities, which will promote the popularity of new energy vehicles.
Smart travel is now becoming a buzzword in China. In this area, Didi has excelled in adopting a wholistic industrial mindset and focusing on optimizing travelers’ experiences with every possible technological approach at hand. However, one can imagine the effort required to successfully manage all the relevant parties and resources along the whole industrial chain.
