A woman uses Uber Technologies Inc's car-hailing service via an electronic screen in Tianjin.[Provided to China Daily]

Taxi-hailing app implements localized strategy

Uber China shut its old mobile app interface on the last weekend of November, to be replaced by a new one that integrates its functions and the drivers' pool with Didi Chuxing four months after the companies' merger.

Didi acquired Uber's China operations in August and became the No 1 ride-hailing service provider in China with 15 million drivers and over 400 million registered users.

All the Uber China platform's drivers and users were urged to move to a new interface introduced in early November.

Foreigners with Uber accounts are also required to download the new app if they would like to use Uber services in China.

Prior to the tie-up, Uber was one of very few foreign tech firms able to compete with domestic rivals head-on in China. Though Didi had bigger market share, Uber managed to gain a foothold in lower-tier cities. The two had been locked in fierce price wars to compete for market share.