Frost Radar: eHailing Platforms in China, 2022

A Benchmarking System to Spark Companies to Action Innovation that Fuels New Deal Flow and Growth Pipelines

In the last 5 years, the Chinese government has tightened vehicle data collection, data protection, data privacy, and cybersecurity through a series of laws and regulations. Frost & Sullivan recognizes that all electronic hailing (eHailing) platform providers in China must assess these regulations and update their business operations and strategies to ensure legal compliance.

China's eHailing market is mature. Growth drivers include residents' improved living standards, restricted private car travel, and shortages of cruising taxis. In 2021, the country's eHailing market transaction scale reached $50.52 billion. The market remains on a growth trajectory and is on course to reach $56.43 billion in 2022, registering year-on-year (YOY) growth of 11.7%.

By the end of 2021, 258 eHailing service providers had obtained the Online Taxi Booking Business License, an increase of 40 companies compared to 2019. Meanwhile, 3.9 million online ride-hailing driver's licenses and 1.6 million vehicle licenses were issued across China.

China has tightened data-related rules on the eHailing industry. In fact, the eHailing giant Didi Global Inc. (Didi) was fined $1.20 billion for 16 legal violations. As the investigation of the company's cybersecurity gradually unfolded, Didi's rivals began competing to grab more market share. Chinese regulators later summoned 11 eHailing platforms, including Meituan, T3 Mobility, AutoNavi, and many other companies mentioned in this study, to stop illegal business expansion and publicity practices to recruit both drivers and passengers. Therefore, eHailing platforms must take serious measures to comply with newly released national cybersecurity laws and security guidelines on processing data collected from their vehicles.

Despite the ongoing national investigation on Didi, the company still dominates the eHailing market, with nearly 70.0% share in 2021. Tier II eHailing platforms such as Xiangdao Chuxing, T3 Mobility, Cao Geode Mobility, Shouqi Yueche, and Dida Chuxing totaled 20.0% market share in 2021. More than 200 eHailing platforms split the remaining 10.0% market share. Frost & Sullivan independently plotted China's top 10 eHailing platforms in this Frost Radar™ analysis.

The study features Didi Global Inc. (Didi), Shouqi Group (Shouqi Yueche), SAIC Mobility Technology and Service (Xiangdao Chuxing), T3 Mobile Travel Services (T3 Mobility), Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (Cao Cao Mobility), Hello TransTech (Hello Chuxing), UCAR Inc. (UCar), Meituan (Meituan Dache), AutoNavi Holdings (AutoNavi), and Beijing Changxing Information Technology (Dida Chuxing). While more than 200 companies either are exploring the market or have recently entered it, Frost & Sullivan has identified these 10 as the market powerhouses.