China's Geely Group Company and Germany's Daimler Mobility Services announced Wednesday that they will form a premium ride-hailing joint venture in China.
The joint venture will provide ride-hailing mobility services in several Chinese cities using premium vehicles including Mercedes-Benz vehicles, according to a statement issued by the two companies.
The fleet initially will include Mercedes Benz S-Class, E-Class and V-Class, as well as Maybach vehicles, and could be supplemented by premium electric vehicles of the Geely Group.
The joint venture, which will have a 50-50 ownership split, will be headquartered in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou. Daimler Mobility Services is a subsidiary of German automaker Daimler Group and Geely Group Company is Chinese carmaker Geely Holding Group's new business entity.
The two companies will jointly develop the software infrastructure required to support the business in China.
"The joint venture will play a significant role as we continue to enlarge our portfolio and global presence and solidify our strong position in the mobility market," said Klaus Entenmann, head of Daimler Financial Services.
Geely Holding launched CaoCao, the Chinese domestic ride-hailing service that currently has more than 17 million registered users, with 1 million regular active users on the app, according to the statement.
Daimler is currently providing free-floating as well as station-based car-sharing services to over 470,000 customers in China, it added.
"The development of such services, in which both companies already have a presence, forms part of our transformation from a vehicle manufacturer into a global automotive technology group," said An Conghui, president of Geely Holding.
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