Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing has signed partnership deals with 12 auto companies to provide marketing support for their car-sharing services and electric vehicles, the Financial Times reports.
The deals are mainly with major Chinese auto makers such as Geely, Changan and BYD but also include foreign companies like Kia and the Renault-Nissan Alliance, which owns Mitsubishi.
The move by Didi, which provides an estimated 7 billion rides per year, is a sign of the increasing converging of interests between the auto industry and technology companies, according to the FT. Car companies in China are in need of help marketing the vast number of electric vehicles they are planning to build to comply with strict Chinese government regulations.