Didi Kuaidi slaps down Uber, claims 83% of China’s private car-hailing market

Didi Kuaidi now accounts for a 83.2 percent share of active users in China’s market for private car-hailing apps, boasted the company today citing third-party data. It puts Didi Kuaidi well ahead of Uber’s 16.2 percent market share of active users.

The numbers are from a report on China’s hard-fought rideshare market by Beijing-based Analysys International; the data is for Q3 2015.

Didi Kuaidi started out as an app for rides in licensed cabs, then in late 2014 it expanded to encompass a variety of private cars – just like Uber.

The new report shows Didi Kuaidi setting the pace in a fast-moving segment that’s facing a backlash from taxi drivers and uncertainty due to a lack of a legal framework for ordinary people making money from taking passengers. Uber is second in the Chinese market, narrowly ahead of UCar.

While Uber seems soundly beaten in China, it’s still early days for the US startup as it covers only 20 Chinese cities compared to 199 by Didi Kuaidi’s private car-hailing. China accounts for 30 percent of all Uber rides and the market is close to surpassing the US, CEO and founder Travis Kalanick said last month.

Kalanick pointed out that there are 80 cities in China of over 5 million people, giving the company huge scope for growth. Uber wants to be in 100 Chinese cities by next year.

See: China’s ride wars: Uber vs. Didi Kuaidi – INFOGRAPHIC