Tech

Chinese Uber rival Didi Chuxing launches bike-sharing service

Key Points
  • The Chinese ride-hailing giant will launch the facility via its app
  • Services from bike-sharing companies Ofo and Bluegogo will be integrated
  • Didi will also launch its own branded bike service
Jean Liu, the president of Didi Chuxing
Jason Lee | Reuters

Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing will launch a bike-sharing service via its app, jumping into a highly-saturated market, the company announced Tuesday.

Didi will integrate rival bike-sharing companies into its app, including Ofo, one of the largest in China.

But the company, which bought out Uber's business in China in 2016, said it would also launch its own-branded bike-sharing service.

Bluegogo will also be one of its bike-sharing partners. Didi said it had reached an agreement with the collapsed bike-sharing firm on "co-operation arrangements" for its business. Bluegogo's brand name, deposits, debts and other properties will be retained by the company.

Users will have the option to convert their Bluegogo money into Didi bike and car ride coupons of equivalent value.

Bluegogo's demise in December underlined the competitive and loss-making nature of China's bike-sharing industry. China is a huge bike-sharing market and numerous companies have been raising large sums of money to fund expansion. For example, Ofo raised $1 billion in December.

Didi has been aggressively expanding into new markets and products. Earlier this month, it acquired Brazilian rival 99.