Uber signs auto discount, financing accord with China dealership Yongda

China Yongda Automobiles Services Holdings

19/03/2015 01:54

BEIJING, March 19 (Reuters) - Ride-hailing service Uber 
Technologies Inc said late on Wednesday it has struck a deal 
with China Yongda Automobiles Services Holdings Ltd  3669.HK , a 
Chinese luxury auto dealer, to provide discounts and financing 
for Uber drivers' cars. 
    Under the agreement, Yongda will provide Uber's partners - 
transportation firms and independent drivers - discounts on new 
car purchases, finance and after-sales service. Uber contracts 
with independent drivers and livery services in 55 countries to 
provide transportation hailed via its smartphone app. 
    The deal comes as the fast-growing San Francisco-based 
company faces intensifying competition in its efforts to expand 
in the potentially lucrative Chinese market. Kuaidi Dache and 
Didi Dache - two richly-funded startups that share roughly 99 
percent of the ride-hailing market in China - recently merged in 
a $6 billion tie-up.  ID:nL4N0VO01T  
    Yongda said it would set aside at least hundreds of millions 
of yuan to fund the programme, and that the two companies have 
already rolled out the purchase incentives on German auto maker 
Volkswagen AG's  VOWG_p.DE  Audi and Volkswagen models. 
     
     
 
 (Reporting by Gerry Shih; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell) 
 ((Gerry.Shih@thomsonreuters.com; +86 133 0137 8331;)) 
 
Keywords: UBER YONDA/AGREEMENT