--FILE -- un utente cinese mostra taxi-salutando app Didi Dache sul suo smartphone in Cina a Shanghai, 22 febbraio 2014. Della Cina di homegrown rivale di Uber, Di
--FILE--A Chinese user shows taxi-hailing app Didi Dache on his smartphone in Shanghai, China, 22 February 2014. China's homegrown rival to Uber, Didi Kuaidi Joint Co., launched a designated driver service Tuesday (28 July 2015) in 10 Chinese cities. Called Didi Chauffeur, the service lets customers who own a vehicle request a chauffeur to drive them. It will presumably be useful for late-night guzzlers of China's infamous baijiu liquor, although Didi Kuaidi played up other uses at a press conference in Beijing. It's the latest effort by Didi Kuaidi to combat Uber in their fierce rivalry for China's ride market. The two companies are taking different tacks: Uber is focusing on its car service, while Didi Kuaidi is trying to become a one-stop shop for transportation needs, with traditional taxis, buses and designated drivers in addition to private cars. Didi Kuaidi recently raised $2 billion to fight Uber, the largest fundraising round ever for a Chinese startup. Uber is in the middle of its own fundraising round for its Chinese business.
