By December 2023, China’s ride-hailing user base reached 528 million people, an increase of 90.57 million from December 2022, accounting for 48.3% of China internet users, according to data from CNNIC.
In 2023, China’s ride-hailing companies experienced strong revenue growth and accelerated steps toward commercializing autonomous driving, marking a new phase in the industry’s development.
The sector saw rapid expansion with significant increases in both the number of ride-hailing platforms and order volumes.
By December 31, 2023, a total of 337 ride-hailing companies had obtained operating licenses, up by 39 companies from the previous year. The ride-hailing regulatory information exchange system processed 9.114 billion orders throughout the year, a 30.76% increase from the previous year.
Against this backdrop, ride-hailing companies achieved fast growth in performance. For example, in the first three quarters, Didi’s total revenue increased by 31.2% year-over-year, with its domestic travel and international business growing by 32.8% and 33.9%, respectively.
The commercial operation of autonomous taxis also made steady progress.
Ride-hailing platforms actively deployed commercial autonomous taxi services, offering smart travel solutions.
In August, Baidu Apollo’s autonomous driving service platform “Luobo Kuaipao” was officially launched in Wuhan’s Dongxihu District, providing citizens with autonomous driving services and achieving breakthroughs in cross-district travel and full unmanned night-time operations.
In September, Pony.ai obtained the first unmanned demonstration application license in Shenzhen, covering nearly 150 autonomous driving service stations across many high-frequency travel destinations, operating during peak morning and evening hours.
Technological advancements have shifted market competition from traffic to service quality, propelling the ride-hailing industry into a new stage of development.