Didi Chuxing, the ride-hailing platform in China, announced today to form a joint venture with BP aimed at providing charging services to car owners in China. The charging stations would be available for both Didi and non-Didi car owners.
The company announced about its joint venture with BP, the British gas, oil, and energy supermajor just one week after Didi has disclosed about its funding that totals to $600 million from Toyota Motor Corporation. The first charging site has already been set up by BP, which is connected to XAS (Xiaoju Automobile Solutions) in the Chinese port city of Guangzhou.
Didi stated that they aim to provide charging network “significantly” in China teaming up with BP.
We look forward to combining our strengths to create a robust EV charging network for China, promote the growth of the new energy automotive industry, and provide a better experience for car owners across the country – Cheng Wei, Chairman and CEO, Didi
XAS is a mobility service platform for other car and transportation companies. Didi has also opened its ride-hailing platform for other companies this in June for better ride-hailing services on their platforms. The company now covers 1000 cities in partnership with Grab, Lyft, Ola, 99 and Bolt.
Didi has been one of the largest electric vehicle operators in China, buying Uber’s operations there in 2016, and since expanding its firm in countries like Australia and Mexico.