Following Dida’s IPO filing, Chinese ride-hailing startup Shouqi Yueche closes series C round

Beijing-based ride-hailing platform Shouqi Yueche has closed its series C round, bagging “hundreds of millions of US dollars,” 36Kr reported on Friday, without revealing any other financial details.

Shouqi declined to comment when contacted by KrAsia on Monday.

Photo credit: Shouqi Yueche

This round comes three years after Shouqi bagged 700 million yuan (US$105 million) from investors including Baidu and Nio Capital – the venture capital arm of electric vehicle maker Nio – in its series B+ round in 2017.

Investors seem to have picked up confidence in the ride-hailing sector, which was negatively affected after China’s largest ride-hailing platform, Didi Chuxing, ran into several safety scandals in 2018.

In May that year, one female passenger was sexually assaulted and killed by a driver of carpooling platform Didi Hitch, while another female passenger was murdered in August 2018. Following the cases, the Chinese government initiated investigations into Didi and other ride-hailing platforms, demanding stricter safety measures. As a result, investors became cautious of the sector.

Meanwhile, Dida, another major ride-hailing platform in China, has raised no new funds since it closed its series E round in August 2018. It, however, has filed for an initial public offering via the stock exchange of Hong Kong earlier this month, KrAsia reported.

Founded in 2015 by state-owned tourist bus fleet operator Shouqi Group, Shouqi Yueche has acquired 113 million registered users as of September – 31.3% up compared with one year ago. The firm has also gathered over 1.1 million drivers in more than 160 cities, which is an increase of 32.7% year on year, according to 36Kr.

Shouqi Yueche, which operates various fleets for different groups such as mothers and kids, students, couples (for use in wedding ceremonies), and the disabled, is predicated to be profitable in terms of EBITA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) in the fourth quarter of this year, 36Kr added.

As a state-backed platform, Shouqi Yueche has a stronger presence in railway stations and airports in China than any other ride-hailing platform, according to the company’s website.

This report was first published on KrAsia.