Volkswagen is negotiating a joint venture with DDT or co-developing a network-specific vehicle model

According to foreign media reports, the Volkswagen Group is negotiating with Didi Travel to establish a joint venture company. VW Group will manage some of Didi's fleets of vehicles and help develop "dedicated" vehicles designed specifically for the DDT business.

According to an executive from the Volkswagen Group, the two parties signed an agreement early next month. As part of the agreement, Volkswagen will initially manage about 100,000 drab vehicles, of which two-thirds will be Volkswagen's branded models. In addition, Volkswagen Group will also jointly purchase new cars with Didi to help Didi expand its fleet. The executive said that the ultimate goal of both parties is to develop and use self-driving vehicles.

However, informed sources did not disclose the details of the transaction, only that after the establishment of the joint venture company, the VW Group will receive some of the income. The executive pointed out that with the cooperation of Didi, Volkswagen Group may finally be able to get some valuable data about the behavior of users from Didi.

Foreign media pointed out that in Beijing and Shanghai, where traffic is relatively congested, online dating service has become increasingly popular, indicating that the concept of private ownership of cars has weakened. For traditional car companies such as the Volkswagen Group, the above trends have a great impact, and forcing companies to reconsider business models and find new sources of income in the future. The executive said, "In the new ecosystem, car companies want to win. We must understand who our customers are, what their trips are, and what our strategy is."

A spokesman for Didi said that the two sides are discussing the details of the cooperation. “The two sides will jointly establish a fleet management business and are also seeking the possibility of cooperation in other areas, such as the development of new models for the network vehicles.” Prior to this, Didi had predicted that most vehicles in its fleet will be electric vehicles in the future. . Reuters quoted a person familiar with the matter as saying that Didi has started to develop electric vehicles together with GAC, Car and Home. However, the cooperation with the public is not yet clear whether it is an electric car.