A partnership could help the two firms tackle the tough China car hire market. Both are facing regulatory uncertainty and fierce competition from deep-pocketed rivals, with Yidao Yongche lagging much bigger domestic rivals. In February, Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache, who count Chinese Internet giants Tencent Holdings Ltd and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd respectively among their backers, announced a $6 billion tie-up to create one of the world’s largest smartphone-based transport services. The merger prompted Yidao Yongche to file an anti-monopoly violation complaint with regulators, saying the two firms may have broken Chinese law by subsidizing taxi rides to sell their service at prices lower than cost in order to push out rivals.
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