The global Uber app will no longer be available to users in China. Instead, they have to download a totally different Uber app that is dedicated to users in the country.
Didi Chuxing, a ride-sharing company based in Beijing, is in the process of acquiring Uber’s China arm. This is why the Uber app is going to look a lot different. The acquisition was announced by Didi a few months ago. However, terminating the Uber app has not been a quick process.
The new Uber China app was developed in conjunction with Didi, and there are a few differences. For starters, one has to have a Chinese phone number to use it and customers have to use a Chinese payment method. This shouldn’t be a big deal for residents of China, but it could be problematic for tourists. In fact, tourists may not be able to use the app at all.
Other features include popular ones that are already found on Didi, which includes WeChat and QQ connections. In-app messaging is also available. Didi did say it will eventually introduce multilingual international features, but did not specify when.
Now that Didi’s and Uber China’s merge is complete, Didi now has a stake in every large ride-sharing company, including Grab in Southeast Asia, Ola in India and Lyft. Didi operates in 400 cities across China and has a 99 percent market share of taxis in China.
