Didi Chuxing launched its services in Toluca on Monday, the Chinese transport company reported, establishing a battle with rival Uber Technologies Inc. in a key market in Latin America.
The launch of operations in Mexico marks the first time that Didi carries its Internet transport service outside Asia, in a key global expansion that occurs as the company faces increasing competition in the Chinese market from Meituan-Dianping, which recently launched its own travel service.
The Didi Express service was launched in the capital of the State of Mexico with a series of new safety features for drivers.
Reuters was the first to inform Didi’s plans for Toluca earlier this month.
In Mexico, Didi will face Uber, his main international rival, for the first time since the launch of the US company in China, which ended with the merger of the two companies’ operations in 2016.
Uber is the leader in Mexico, where it has seven million users in more than three dozen cities.
Didi, who has an operations center in Colonia Juarez in Mexico City, said he hopes to take his transportation service to other major cities in Mexico later this year.
The company reported that its teams in Mexico, Beijing and California studied the Mexican market to adapt the algorithms of Didi and other technologies for the local market, addressing issues such as crime.
Didi brings to Mexico a series of new security features, including an emergency button in the application that will connect drivers and passengers with police and other emergency contacts if they are in danger, in addition to a security monitoring system and a way to share your travel itinerary.
The company began recruiting drivers earlier this month, promising that it will not receive any percentage of its fees until June 17. After this, Didi plans to receive 20% of each trip, below the 25% commission charged by Uber, Reuters reported previously.
At the end of last year, Didi bought the Brazilian transport services firm 99, which gave the company its first support base in Latin America.
