Didi Chuxing is accelerating its pace of charging infrastructure construction.
Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing announced a partnership with British multinational oil and gas company BP plc on August 1. The two companies will establish a joint venture providing electric vehicle charging services for all EV drivers across China.
So far, the first charging station constructed by Didi and BP has been put in use in Guangzhou, and it will also be the first charging station transferred to the joint venture. The station is equipped with 10 charging posts ranging from 60 kW to 120 kW.
In response to global climate change and electric-car boom, BP is fully engaged in exploitation of new energy business over recent years. In 2018, the oil and gas company acquired British largest EV charging solution provider Chargemaster and started its quick charging business from then on.
As a privately-held company that facilitates 30 million rides per day, Didi possesses dominant advantages over user base and traffic. By cooperating with charging service operators, it successfully entered the quick charging arena. However, in April this year, Didi broke up with some big operators as it invaded the offline charging station buildup.
Ever since then, Didi has accelerated its charging facility construction process. It successively collaborated with several state-owned companies on charging infrastructure construction across many provinces in May and June.
In addition to charging services, Didi has ambitions in autonomous driving, auto finance and other auto-related services as well.
China has the biggest electric car market in the world holding 50% of global electric vehicle population. Around 80% of Chinese EVs are expected to be charged via charging facilities outside home
In terms of cooperation, BP's downstream business Chief Executive Officer Tufan Erginbilgic said partnership between Didi and BP was a perfect response to the fast-changing market.