Matthews Asia: Uber vs DiDi – Driving Mr. Andy

Uber vs DiDi - Driving Mr. Andy by Andy Rothman, Matthews Asia

Uber, the U.S. ride-sharing company, has big plans for China, and it says the number of Uber trips there is almost as large as it is in the U.S. While Uber has raised more than US$1 billion for its standalone Chinese unit, its mainland market share is dwarfed by that of a local competitor, DiDi. But on a recent trip to China, I was less interested in the numbers than in discovering why some Chinese prefer to drive for the foreign underdog rather than the dominant, homegrown ride-hailing firm.

Same App, Same Credit Card

I was impressed to discover that I could use the U.S. app to request an...