BEIJING, July 25, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- China’s leading app-based chauffeured car services provider UCAR Inc. (Stock code: 838006) was listed on China’s National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ) last Friday, closed at 55.26 RMB, increased by 13% compared with issue price, and market value reached up to 41.8 billion RMB.
As the first on-demand chauffeured car services stock in China, UCAR has soon become the biggest company listed in NEEQ industrial sector in terms of market capitalization, which makes it the new “Star Stock”.
Founded in January 2015, UCAR focuses on mobility and automobile value chain, and comprises three business segments, namely Shenzhou Zhuanche (“神州专车”), Shenzhou Maimaiche (“神州买卖车”) and Shenzhou Shandai (“神州闪贷”). UCAR is also the largest shareholder of CAR Inc., China’s biggest car rental company.
Known as Uber’s rival in China, UCAR set up a B2C operation model with “professional cars and professional drivers”, which is in principle different from Uber’s model of private car owners offering rides for compensation. UCAR aims to provide safe, comfortable, standard and high quality on-demand chauffeured car services, through its advanced mobility sharing platform built on the internet and big data. Since its launch, UCAR has expanded its operation in strict compliance with the guidelines of Chinese government on chauffeured car services.
Since last year, UCAR has raised an aggregate of 5.6 billion RMB (840 million USD) in two financing rounds completed in April and May 2016, with its valuation climbing to 36.9 billion RMB (5.5 billion USD) after completion.
According to a recent report published by Roland Berger, the world’s reputed consulting company, in 2015, UCAR has acquired 40% market share in China’s chauffeured car services market; and its orders increased by 32.9% per month on average, far more than the industry average level of 19.5%. Besides, UCAR’s average retention rate of active users for the following month is 70%, ranked No.1 in the industry. From the same report, the market size of China’s on-demand chauffeured car services is expected to reach 500 billion RMB by 2020 and the potential ultimate market demand will be as huge as 1,100 billion RMB.
The market believes that the listing of UCAR on NEEQ has special implication to the industry. It proves that UCAR’s B2C model has been well-recognized by investors, and received support and endorsement from the regulatory authorities, thus establishing a benchmark for the healthy development of on-demand chauffeured car services industry.
After going public, UCAR’s next strategic moves are car trading and financing. The company has set up Shenzhou Maimaiche, an advanced O2O automobile e-commerce platform, to sell new and used cars through online and offline channels under the innovative model of “buy after use”. At present, Shenzhou Maimaiche has operations in 114 cities across China. At the same time, Shenzhou Shandai, the financing segment of UCAR, will provide one-stop automotive financial services including new and used car mortgage loans.
"Being listed on NEEQ marks a milestone for UCAR Inc.. As the bridgehead of the whole group, UCAR will continue to focus on creativity and innovation and capture business opportunities arising from the revolutionary changes in mobile internet and automotive technology through capitalizing on industry resources and synergies along the value chain, so as to reshape the human-vehicle ecosystem," said Lu Zhengyao, the Chairman and CEO of UCAR.
Analysts indicated that the listing of UCAR on NEEQ has not only launched a new capital channel, but also created a new prospect for the company. As the new star stock on NEEQ, UCAR will also help attract other quality internet companies to join NEEQ.