Apr 8, 2022

Zhou Hang (Source: Geekcar) Zhou Hang, the founder of Chinese ride-hailing platform Yidao Yongche, has become the chairman of Caocao Mobility, Jiemian News learned from sources on Thursday. Zhou himself has confirmed this appointment. Zhou said that he left VC institution Shunwei Capital in June last year, although he has not yet disclosed his specific responsibilities at Caocao Mobility, only emphasizing that the ride-hailing platform is still operated by a core team led by the CEO. Yidao Yongche was established in May 2010, two years before the country’s current industry leader, Didi, once occupying the largest market share in 2014. However, during the online car-hailing subsidies war, it chose to pursue cautious financing and avoid the popular strategy of pouring in significant capital, leading to a smaller market share. More importantly, Yidao Yongche accepted the strategic investment of LeEco in 2015, allowing the latter to acquire 70% equity and become the controlling shareholder. Subsequently, LeEco began to send senior executives to Yidao Yongche, while Zhou gradually moved away from the specific business management of the company. The founding team, mainly represented by Zhou Hang, officially resigned from Yidao Yongche in April 2017. At the same time, Zhou joined Shunwei Capital as an investment partner. Caocao Mobility is a strategically-invested business of major Chinese vehicle maker Geely. Caocao’s business line includes online ride-hailing, intra-city services and others. By the end of 2021, Caocao had covered more than 60 cities in China, with more than 600,000 registered drivers. In terms of its operations, Gong Xin, general manager of Caocao Mobility, said in an interview in September last year that its order volume had doubled in the past three months. In some larger cities, Caocao’s market share is close to 20%. In response to recent rumors of being acquired by Didi, Caocao said to STCN.com that the reports were false, and that the business development has entered the fast lane since the completion of a round B financing in September of last year. The company added that it will make new business progress in the near future.