GIC leads Series C for China car rental service Yongche

The size of the round was not disclosed but local media reported the amount as being above $100 million, Chinese search operator Baidu also participating. 

Last year, Beijing-based Yongche secured a $60 million Series B round led by travel site Ctrip.com and DCM. Existing investors China Broadband Capital (CBC) and Morningside Technologies also re-upped. CBC led the Series B round while Morningside invested in Series A round together with Qualcomm Ventures. Zhenfund provided seed funding when the company was established in 2010.

Yongche provides a platform for users to book cars through its mobile app or the official website. It has already expanded its business to 74 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. It provides services such as hourly and daily rental and airport transfers, contracting vehicles from small and mid-size car rental companies.

Yongche plans to expand into San Francisco and New York, Bloomberg reported in June. To differentiate its service, the company will provide Mandarin-speaking drivers for Chinese customers.

Competition in China's car rental market is intense. Uber is launching services in several cities, while the two major incumbent taxi-booking apps - which differ from Yongche and Uber in that they connect customers to individual drivers rather than running their own fleets - are in fierce competition. 

Didi Dache raised a reported $100 million round from CITIC Private Equity and Tencent Holdings early this year and plans to launch a car-sharing service. Rival Kuadi Dache is said to be aligned with Alibaba Group.

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• Topics
• Greater China
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• China
• Baidu
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