In the era of online car rental,Didi your domain name is really worrying!

Walking too far or crowded public transportation can be quite a hassle for the salaried class without cars. This is where ride-hailing services come in, offering users a more comfortable and convenient way to travel. Today, let's take a look at the domain name journeys of several major ride-hailing platforms!

1.Didi Chuxing

Didi Chuxing, originally known as "Didi Dache," was founded in 2012. Initially, its official website used the four-character domain name xiaojukeji.com, which belonged to the company "Xiaoju Tech." This domain name was lengthy and didn't align with the Didi Chuxing brand.

Previously, due to a trademark infringement case involving Didi Dache (Hangzhou Miaoying Microelectronics Co., Ltd. claimed 80 million yuan in compensation), Xiaoju Tech had to change its name to Didi Dache. Learning from this experience, after rebranding to "Didi Chuxing" in 2015, the company proactively registered or acquired related trademarks and domain names. In 2017, they spent millions to acquire didi.cn and protected domains like didichuxing.com/cn. However, accessing didichuxing.com currently prompts an upgrade notice, and the official Didi Chuxing website is didiglobal.com. They own a total of 45 brand-related domain names, including didiglobal.cn/net.cn. Didi has grown to become the leading ride-hailing platform in China, with a valuation exceeding 360 billion RMB. However, it's worth noting that despite changing domain names a few times, from xiaojukeji.com to didiglobal.com, their choices still seem somewhat verbose and don't reflect the stature of an industry leader.

2.CAR Inc. (Shenzhou Car Rental)

Established in September 2007, CAR Inc. (Shenzhou Car Rental) is headquartered in Beijing, China. As a pioneer in China's car rental industry, it provides customers with professional car rental services, including short-term and long-term rentals. In 2010, the company acquired the double-spelled domain name zuche.com from domain investor Jiemian Wu for 700 million USD, replacing its previous domain name rentauto.net. This move positioned them as a dominant player in the domestic car rental market. Shenzhou Car Rental's market value currently stands at 4.346 billion HKD.

Additionally, the Shenzhou Group owns several high-quality domain names related to the "car" industry. For instance, in 2014, they acquired the three-character domain name maimaiche.com for 80,000 USD, which is now used as the official domain name for "Shenzhou Buy Buy Car."

3.Uber

Uber is a technology company based in Silicon Valley, USA, renowned for its ride-hailing app of the same name. Uber, initially called UberCab, didn't use the name "Uber" initially. The company's first domain name was UberCar.com, which they acquired from a domain investor. In 2010, they changed the name to Uber and continued operations. However, they couldn't afford the domain name uber.com after the rebranding. To secure the domain name for their overseas markets, they used 2% of the company's shares to acquire uber.com from Universal Music Group. Later, they repurchased these shares for 1 million USD. This decision proved wise as Uber's current market value is 57.915 billion USD.

In 2014, Uber officially entered the Chinese mainland market and adopted the Chinese name "you bu" (You Bu). Despite Didi Chuxing acquiring Uber China in 2016, Uber remains an independent entity. Uber's official website in China now uses the domain name uber.com.cn, registered in January 2001. With its clear relevance to the brand name and trademark, the domain name "uber" is a perfect fit. Uber also holds hundreds of domain names, including "uber.org, ubercar.com, uberbus.com, ubereats.com," and many more.

4.Yidao Yongche (Ehi Car Services)

Founded by Zhou Hang in May 2010, Yidao Yongche was China's first internet-based car reservation service platform and one of the world's earliest ride-hailing platforms. In October 2015, LeEco acquired a 70% stake in Yidao for 700 million USD, making them the controlling shareholder. This capital boost propelled Yidao into the fast lane. In June 2018, "Yidao Car" was rebranded as "Yidao," yet its official website domain name remained yongche.com. Apart from this domain name, Yidao only protected the related brand domain name yongche.cn.

5.eHi Car Services

eHi Car Services launched in 2006 and is headquartered in Shanghai, China. As the largest car rental service provider in China, it operates a network of car rental services. eHi Car Services uses the combination domain name 1hai.cn, where "1" holds symbolic significance in Chinese culture, representing good fortune and being the first. They also hold related domain names like 1hai.com/.com.cn/.net, demonstrating their strong commitment to domain name protection. eHi Car Services' market value is currently 853 million

USD.

In the competitive ride-hailing industry, each platform's domain names reflect their efforts to establish strong online identities. Many platforms opt for Pinyin-based domain names or domain names with Pinyin combinations. Pinyin, as a distinctive cultural feature of China, is widely accepted by Chinese users. Using such domain names not only makes them memorable but also strengthens their connection with users, boosting traffic growth and facilitating market penetration within China.