被滴滴收購(gòu)后,優(yōu)步中國(guó)正走向安樂(lè)死
全世界各個(gè)地區(qū)、各個(gè)國(guó)家的優(yōu)步APP界面和功能都一樣。而如今,中國(guó)的優(yōu)步APP卻與其他地區(qū)都不同。 收購(gòu)優(yōu)步的中國(guó)區(qū)業(yè)務(wù)三個(gè)月后,收購(gòu)方滴滴出行表示,新版優(yōu)步APP將于下個(gè)月上線,該新版APP不支持英文版本,不能使用國(guó)外發(fā)行的信用卡,且在中國(guó)以外地區(qū)也無(wú)法使用。換言之,該打車應(yīng)用就像這個(gè)國(guó)家的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)一樣:與外界隔絕。 盡管滴滴與優(yōu)步中國(guó)達(dá)成交易時(shí)是圍繞“合并”進(jìn)行談判的,但事實(shí)是滴滴收購(gòu)了優(yōu)步。滴滴作為收購(gòu)方,完全有權(quán)改變其品牌,甚至將其納入自己麾下。但收購(gòu)之時(shí),滴滴表示,優(yōu)步將保持“品牌和運(yùn)營(yíng)獨(dú)立性”,且“乘客將繼續(xù)獲得穩(wěn)定服務(wù)”。新版APP雖與早先聲明相違背,卻是由多方面因素導(dǎo)致的。 在世界范圍內(nèi),中國(guó)打車應(yīng)用公司之間的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)都是相當(dāng)激烈的。為吸引司機(jī)和乘客而提供的補(bǔ)貼和折扣讓優(yōu)步一年虧損約10億美元(滴滴虧損更大)。在此情況下,兩家公司應(yīng)對(duì)雙方8月1日達(dá)成的交易感到滿意:優(yōu)步停止了在中國(guó)的“放血”行為,而滴滴則收購(gòu)了第二大土豪競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手。 優(yōu)步中國(guó)一直以來(lái)獨(dú)立于優(yōu)步全球運(yùn)營(yíng)。然而,滴滴收購(gòu)該公司后,不得不重新處理優(yōu)步中國(guó)與優(yōu)步全球總部之間的法定權(quán)利和知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)交易。例如,在中國(guó)境內(nèi)使用國(guó)外發(fā)行的信用卡進(jìn)行支付的系統(tǒng),是優(yōu)步全球與其支付合作伙伴共同建立的。 滴滴放眼全球?qū)で蟀l(fā)展,也愿意接受國(guó)外發(fā)行的信用卡。但其中的法定權(quán)利需進(jìn)行調(diào)整,并重新修訂。公司表示,兩個(gè)月的時(shí)間不足以完成所有“跨境法律事務(wù)和知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)協(xié)調(diào)?!苯裉欤蔚涡荚谥袊?guó)推出新版APP,并將于明年年初將推出另一版APP,將一些功能添加回去。同時(shí),滴滴將于今年年底將優(yōu)步中國(guó)從收購(gòu)前的60個(gè)城市推廣至400個(gè)城市。 然而,優(yōu)步中國(guó)的日子并不好過(guò)。本月初,優(yōu)步中國(guó)負(fù)責(zé)人辭職。用戶抱怨使用優(yōu)步APP的司機(jī)減少了,因此需要等待比以前多三倍到四倍的時(shí)間才能打到車。同時(shí),司機(jī)也抱怨用戶變少了。一位名為彭飛(音)的北京司機(jī)昨日說(shuō),“與之前大不相同了?!庇捎谘a(bǔ)貼額度和乘客數(shù)量均下降了,他的收入也比前幾個(gè)月遜色不少。似乎網(wǎng)絡(luò)效應(yīng)的對(duì)立面正在侵蝕優(yōu)步在中國(guó)的地位。 兩年前,滴滴和快的合并時(shí)也發(fā)生了類似的情況,滴滴很快打破了保持快的以“獨(dú)立實(shí)體”運(yùn)營(yíng)的承諾。 盡管優(yōu)步中國(guó)可能于明年推出新版APP,但到那時(shí),它或許沒(méi)那么重要了。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)) 譯者:司慧杰/汪皓 | Everywhere in the world, from country to country, Uber’s app looks and works the same. Everywhere now except China. Three months after Uber’s China division was acquired by Didi Chuxing, the conqueror said Uber’s new app, out next month, wouldn’t include English, wouldn’t accept foreign credit cards, and wouldn’t be usable outside of China. In other words, ridesharing is beginning to look a lot like China’s Internet: walled off from the rest of the world. For all the ‘merger’ talk around the time of its deal with Uber China, Didi Chuxing did in fact acquire Uber China. As the acquirer, it has every right to change the brand, or even subsume it into its own. But at the time of the acquisition, it said Uber would keep “independent branding and business operations” for the “continuity of service for passengers.”The new app version contradicts its earlier statements. But there are reasonable explanations why. The competition between ridesharing companies was among the world’s fiercest in China, where Uber was estimated to be losing $1 billion a year (and Didi even more) because of subsidies and discounts to gain drivers and users. In this environment, both companies had reason to be happy with their Aug. 1 deal: Uber stopped the bloodletting in China, and Didi took over the deep-pocketed No. 2 player in its market. Uber China always operated as a separate entity fromUber’s international parent. Still, when Didi inherited the company, it had to rework the legal rights and intellectual property deals Uber China had with international Uber. Foreign credit card payments inside China, for instance, were set up with Uber global’s payment partners. Didi’s ambitions today extend outside China, and it wants to accept foreign credit cards. But those legal rights need to be restructured and redrafted. Two months hasn’t been enough time to handle the “cross-border legal and intellectual property rights coordination,” according to the company.Today, Didi says the new Uber app launching in China will be followed by another early next year, one with some features added back in. In the meantime, Didi is expanding Uber China into 400 cities by the end of this year, up from 60 before it was acquired. Still, Uber China’s days look numbered. Earlier this month, the head of Uber China resigned. Users now complain about wait times three to four times longer because of fewer drivers using the system. Drivers, meanwhile, complain about fewer users. “It’s not the same as before,” one Beijing driver named Peng Fei said yesterday. He’s making far less money than a few months ago because of fewer subsidies and riders. It seems the opposite of the network effect is eroding Uber’s relevance in China. The same thing happened two years ago when rivals Didi and Kuaidi Dache merged in China, and promises of keeping “independent entities” were soon broken. While another Uber China app version may roll out next year, by then it might not matter much. |