中国滴滴将进军澳大利亚-中国第一个西方市场

Didi Chuxing Technology Co. Ltd., the Chinese ride-sharing company that bought the mainland operations of Uber Technologies Inc., will begin offering its service this month in Australia, its first foray in a Western-style country.

收购优步技术公司大陆业务的中国乘用车共享有限公司--滴滴出行技术公司将于本月开始在澳大利亚提供服务，这是该公司首次进军西方国家。

The scheduled June 25 launch in Australia’s second biggest city Melbourne sets Didi up for a showdown with the US rival it bought out in China in exchange for a stake.

滴滴定于6月25日在澳大利亚第二大城市墨尔本上市，届时将与其在中国收购的美国竞争对手摊牌，以换取股份。

Didi started expanding outside Asia in Mexico earlier this year, and has said globalization is a core strategy.

滴滴今年早些时候开始在亚洲以外的墨西哥开阔市场，并表示进行全球化是一项核心战略。

Its move into Australia will be a test of how it can compete in Western-style markets that might tend more towards US brands than, say, Southeast Asia or Latin America, where China has traditionally had a stronger influence.

进军澳大利亚将是对它如何在西方市场竞争的考验，西方市场可能更倾向于美国品牌，而不是中国在传统上拥有更强影响力的东南亚或拉丁美洲这些地区。

"I think overall penetration rates for ride sharing versus overall transportation is still low so the market has great potential," Dillon Ye, who heads up Didi’s Australian operations, said when asked about competition.

负责滴滴澳大利亚业务的迪隆·叶(Dillon Ye)在被问及竞争问题时表示:“我认为，拼车与整体交通的整体渗透率相比仍较低，因此市场具有巨大潜力。”

Melbourne, a city of 4.5 million people with cheaper real estate than larger Sydney, is a popular Australian entry point for companies in the "sharing economy." Uber has routinely launched new offerings in the city, while several Chinese and Singapore-owned dockless bicycle rental companies have picked Melbourne to start in Australia.

墨尔本是一个拥有450万人口的城市，房地产价格比大悉尼便宜，是澳大利亚“共享经济”企业的热门切入点。优步经常在该市推出新产品，中国和新加坡拥有的几家无桩自行车租赁公司选择在澳大利亚的墨尔本开业。

"We welcome competition because it keeps us focused on delivering the very best product and customer experience for riders, driver partners and Uber Eats customers and partners," an Uber spokeswoman said.

优步的一位女发言人说：“我们欢迎竞争，因为它让我们更专注于为乘客、司机合、优食和合作伙伴们提供最好的产品和客户体验。”

Didi did not give any investment details or a timeline for expanding its Australian operation outside Melbourne, though Ye said the firm would build up its business before moving on to the "next wave" of cities, as well as into New Zealand.

滴滴没有透露任何投资细节，也没有给出在墨尔本以外拓展澳洲业务的时间表，不过叶表示，该公司将在进入“下一波”城市以及新西兰之前拓展业务。

The Chinese company had started recruiting drivers in Melbourne in early June "to warm responses." It had also done a trial in Geelong, a satellite city 75 kilometers away.

这家中国公司已于6月初开始在墨尔本招聘司机“以引起热烈反响。”它还在75公里外的卫星城吉隆进行了试验。

Moreover, the ride-hailing platform will adopt the same, if not more, safety enhancement plans that are currently running in China, which include several qualification checks on drivers, encrypted phone numbers, emergency call available 24/7, trip-sharing function that lets users’ families and friends know where they are and so forth.

此外，打车平台也将采用与目前在中国运行的相同(如果不是更多)的安全增强计划，包括对司机进行多次资格检查、加密电话号码、全天候可用的紧急呼叫、让用户的家人和朋友知道他们在哪里的出行共享功能等。