After experiencing the "9981" disaster, Didi has regained its strength and is ready to stage a new story.
Recently, industry insiders revealed that Didi is expected to announce the car-making plan code-named "Da Vinci" in the middle of this year.
If the news is true, it will rebel against it, which has threatened never to build a car.
On the other hand, it's not surprising that it made such a choice. Due to the decline in its own business, its net loss continues to expand, and its market value has shrunk by nearly two-thirds, and it is urgent to find new growth points.
But looking at the car-making track, it is already overcrowded, and it is definitely a vicious battle to meet it. Are you optimistic about Didi?
Didi started again
In April 2018, the spirited Cheng Wei announced the establishment of a "torrent alliance" for the automotive industry with 31 auto companies and map service providers. At the press conference, Didi vowed to the outside world that it would never build a car and would not be an enemy of anyone.
At that time, the media's interpretation was that "in the next 10 years, Cheng Wei's ambitions are even greater."
No one expected that what awaited it was a harsh reality.
After experiencing a series of changes such as the heavy setback of the ride-hailing business, the robbery of the online ride-hailing market, the sharp decline in stock prices, delisting, and sharp layoffs, Didi was smoothed out by reality and began to re-examine itself.
Recently, a number of media reported that in the middle of this year, it is expected to announce the news of car manufacturing and officially overturn the previous "promise".
The news shows that the car manufacturing plan mainly includes passenger cars and online car models. The former is named C1, which is a pure electric car, priced at about 150,000 yuan; the latter is called D1, which is planned to be produced by BYD and will be used by Flower Pig in the future.
It is said that Didi's car-making team has about 1,700 people, and the new car is expected to be delivered as soon as June next year.
Is building a car a good destination?
Its choice is not surprising.
Didi, which has been deeply cultivated in the field of travel for many years, has a large number of drivers, passengers, road information, and even in the automotive aftermarket such as charging piles and financial sectors. Therefore, continuing to dig for gold in the automotive industry is the optimal solution.
In addition, according to its current situation, I am afraid it is not what it wants to do, but what it can do.
As we all know, although Didi has a wide range of business, online ride-hailing is undoubtedly the most important. However, this business has been hit hard.
In July last year, its app was forced to go offline for allegedly using personal information in violation of regulations. The opponents who are eyeing the tiger are waiting for the opportunity to move, and even the METUan taxi, which has long been closed, has also been restarted, and everyone has frantically subsidized and divided the market. Until now, the negative effects of this incident have not been eliminated.
According to the data, Didi's net loss in the third quarter of 2021 soared directly from 24.271 billion yuan in the second quarter to 30.375 billion yuan. Total revenue decreased by 11.48% sequentially.
Meanwhile, its market value has shrunk by more than two-thirds, peaking at $18 a share and now only $4.16 remains.
Losses have increased and market capitalization has shrunk, just like two mountains pressing on Didi, making it difficult and can only struggle. In this case, it urgently needs to seek a new model of profitability.
Building a car is a good choice, and it also adds a few points to its Hong Kong IPO.
The road ahead is uncertain
In short, no matter what the purpose, Didi's car building is imperative.
But what lies ahead of it is by no means a smooth road, and there are still many thorny problems that need to be solved urgently.
The first is the issue of funding. Back a year ago, Didi was "rich and powerful", but last year, orange heart preferred to smash the big hole, which made its vitality seriously hurt. The "East Wall" has not been replenished, and it is really difficult to build the "West Wall."
Not to mention that it is not easy to build a car, which requires a lot of time and money. How much real money Didi can come up with is still unknown.
Secondly, the car-making army is huge, and there are players at almost all price points. Didi's entry will face huge competitive pressure. In the situation where there are fierce enemies in the front and pursuing soldiers in the rear, how far it can go must be a question mark.
In the end, Didi wants to break through quickly and must deliver enough cars. However, according to the performance of the previous D1, the annual delivery volume is only more than 10,000 vehicles, and it is difficult to form a basic scale in the market to support its car manufacturing.
This time, everyone hopes that Didi can bet right, but can it really get its wish?