Avis Budget Group Teams With Didi Chuxing on Strategic Partnership Agreement

(Source: Travel Pulse)

On Tuesday, Avis Budget Group announced that it had signed a strategic partnership agreement with Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing.

The partnership will provide Didi Chuxing's over 300 million registered users with access to Avis Car Rental and Budget Car Rental vehicles while traveling in approximately 175 countries.

Avis Budget Group and Didi Chuxing will coordinate product, technology and local marketing resources in order to provide registered users traveling outbound from China with easy and convenient car rental service from Didi Chuxing's mobile application.

Didi Chuxing's registered users will now be able to book Avis and Budget rentals at airports and neighborhood locations around the world.

“Like Avis Budget Group, Didi Chuxing is committed to providing its customers with innovative solutions to make travel as stress-free as possible. This is even more valuable when traveling internationally,” Avis Budget Group president Mark Servodidio said in a statement. “This strategic alliance gives us the opportunity to demonstrate Avis' world-renowned premium service and the great value of Budget to Didi Chuxing's substantial user base.”

The new partnership is just the latest step for Didi Chuxing’s global expansion, as the company partnered with ride-hailing service Lyft earlier this year to allow its customers to use the Lyft app to hail a car in the United States.

For the Avis Budget Group, tapping into a growing outbound Chinese tourist market is a long-term goal, with 30.2 million Chinese trips being taken in the first quarter of 2016, according to the South China Morning Post.

In August, Didi Chuxing also acquired Uber China and continues to push for a more global presence in the ride-hailing service industry.