Uber in China - Marketing

1. What are the characteristics of the online chauffeur market?

Uber in China is an independent local company because the online chauffer market in China is different from other markets. Unlike the other countries, in China, drivers work full-time.

Online chauffeur market is not expensive service but very convenient way and helpful experience. This market allowed people to save time and money. The number of taxi companies is growing every year.

Conditions of the cars and roads also play very important role.

1. What is the business model adopted by Uber in China?

From the beginning Uber’s business model was using the non-experienced drivers and their own cars to provide the service. Later on, Uber had started offering variety of vehicles and licensed drivers.

In China, Uber started working in Shanghai, the city with a big population. First, the company used Uber Black, it is the service using expensive cars. Uber later continued the test to Beijing and Shenzhen with another service Uber X that is used by regular sedans and the service is not so expensive. By 2015, Uber has covered 11 cities in China. Uber in China is the largest market after the United States.

1. What are the similarities and differences between Uber and its counterparts in China?

The taxi market in China is huge and offers a lot of services. Didi and Kuadi are the main competitors of Uber. These two companies started as taxi-hailing apps which is the opposite to “Uber’s business model of matching car owners to ride-seekers” (p.5 “Uber: managing a ride in China,” 2015). The similarity is that these companies use varieties of cars, normal and premium cars. Same as Uber, Kuadi uses Alipay, a payment solution. Some differences are that Didi uses Wechat, a popular mobile chat. Users could access the payment option, which is very convenient. Kuadi and Didi both spent a huge amount of money on promotions offering customers coupons. Also, Didi provides an interesting option, substitution of drivers if the owner of the car is drunk.

1. How should Uber position itself in China, relative to its competitors?

Uber as an international company has competitive advantage. People, who travel, might find Uber very helpful because it’s cover a lot of countries and major cities. As from the beginning Uber positioned itself as a premium car services but for the cheap price. I think Uber can continue provide reliable services for the good price.

1. What are the pros and cons of the current strategies adopted by Uber and its competitors?

Uber’s strategies are not unique and easily copied. But one of the interesting features is their surge pricing. Uber has automatically service to rate a journey. Overall, Uber has very low price.