Domestic News

Didi is trialling the “route selection” function to provide passengers with up to three different routes

According to news on March 4, Didi today trialled the "select route" function in Express and Youxiang. Users can independently choose the vehicle's route in the APP. This function is designed to better help passengers choose routes, facilitate quick communication between drivers and passengers, and effectively avoid disputes between drivers and passengers caused by route selection.

From now on, when passengers use the latest version of Didi Chuxing APP to use express or preferential travel, they can click the "Select Route" button while waiting for pick-up (before getting on the bus) and during the trip to select a suitable vehicle route. After the passenger selects a driving route, the route information will be automatically synchronized to the driver's navigation app. If the passenger uses the "modify destination" function during the itinerary, after the destination is successfully modified, the passenger can still choose the route independently. In order to improve the user experience and help users make quick decisions, the "Select Route" function provides passengers with reference information for up to three different driving routes, including road conditions, estimated driving distance, estimated driving time, and the number of traffic lights passing by.

Kuaishou expands recruitment to 1,000+ social recruitment positions: mainly in the R&D line. Currently, more than 60% are R&D positions

On March 4, Kuaishou announced that it would buck the trend and expand its spring recruitment to 1,000+ social recruitment positions, including R&D, gaming, and functional lines. According to insiders, Kuaishou’s social recruitment is mainly for the research and development line. In addition to the Beijing headquarters, there are also positions in Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Seattle, San Diego, and San Jose in the United States.

The rapid growth of user scale is the main reason for Kuaishou's expansion against the trend. Kuaishou achieved an increase of 60 million daily active users in 2018. By the end of 2018, the App's daily active users had exceeded 160 million. Kuaishou’s recruitment for the R&D line occupies the highest proportion this time. It is reported that technology-driven is the most important label of Kuaishou. It builds a set of infrastructure with AI as the core. Kuaishou's AI technology is applied in all aspects from content production, consumption to distribution.

CATL wants to expand its German factory to meet 100GWh battery demand

It was reported on March 4 that CATL, one of the largest battery suppliers in China, is considering expanding its German factory to become one of the largest factories in the world. This may be the biggest electric vehicle news in Europe at the moment. CATL is considering doubling the size of its factory in Erfurt (located in the German state of Thuringia) to meet 100 gigawatt hours (GWh) of battery demand.

According to previous plans, CATL Europe plans to first invest 240 million euros to reach 14 GWh of battery supply. And it will expand the scale again before 2025 to reach a production of 50-60 GWh, and the future battery output can be determined based on the proportion of large-capacity batteries produced. This means that CATL can supply hundreds of gigawatt hours of batteries per year in the future. These batteries need to be loaded into four 40-foot containers every hour and shipped continuously from the factory.

Foreign News

Tesla will release Model Y and plans to mass produce it early next year

On March 4, Musk announced on social media that Model Y will be officially released on March 14 at the Los Angeles design studio. There was previous news that Model Y would be unveiled at this year's Shanghai Auto Show, but Tesla denied it at the time.

Musk revealed that because the Model Y is about 10% larger than the Model 3, the price is correspondingly increased by about 10%, and the battery range is relatively shorter. In addition, due to cost issues, Model Y will not have the iconic gull-wing doors of Model X. Model Y is positioned on a par with Model 3 and is an SUV model similar in style to Model X. It is Tesla's second SUV product. According to the original plan, Tesla should have launched Model Y last year, but due to the production ramp-up problem of Model 3, Model Y was not officially launched until this year. In order to reduce capital expenditures, Model Y will be built based on the Model 3 production line and share 75% of its parts.

The law plans to impose a "digital tax" on large Internet companies, involving multinational companies

On March 4, according to Hong Kong’s Wen Wei Po, France plans to impose a “digital tax” on large Internet companies such as Amazon starting from January 1, 2020, involving the United States, Europe and other countries and regions. Details of the relevant plan will be discussed at the French cabinet on the 6th.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said that the new tax will be levied on the income generated by Internet companies in France, including online advertising for French users, online shopping platforms, and income from the resale of French users’ personal data. According to reports, all companies with global revenue of more than 750 million euros and French revenue of more than 25 million euros must pay a tax equivalent to 5% of French revenue, which is estimated to bring in 500 million euros in tax revenue.

Financial Investment

The popularity of shared scooters continues, Europe’s Voi completes US$30 million in financing

On March 4, Voi Technology, the largest shared electric scooter company in Europe, announced the completion of a new round of financing of US$30 million to help it expand throughout Europe.

This round of financing comes as European shared electric scooter companies negotiate mergers to stay competitive. The American shared electric scooter giants Lime and Bird are also actively expanding into the European market. Eight-month-old Voi has raised a total of $80 million in funding. The company said in a statement that "most" of the Nordic cities it has entered, including Stockholm, Copenhagen and Gothenburg, will be profitable by early this year. The company also operates in other European cities such as Paris, Madrid, and Lisbon.

Proud Kids online children’s English received tens of millions of RMB in Pre-A financing

On March 4, Lieyun.com learned that online children’s English Proud Kids recently announced that it had received tens of millions of yuan in Pre-A round financing led by Source Star Capital, followed by BV Baidu Ventures and Mindfulness Capital.

It is understood that Proud Kids focuses on one-to-four live small class classes with a fixed combination of Chinese and foreign teachers, serving children aged 4-12 in second- to fourth-tier cities. In early 2018, Proud Kids officially launched course products. Its precise market positioning and rational business model achieved rapid growth in a short period of time.. Proud Kids is the first online teaching model that combines Chinese and foreign teachers. It insists on starting from the actual English learning conditions of ordinary Chinese children and designing courses that are in line with Chinese children's culture and cognition. At the same time, it truly achieves English learning effects that are not deviated from but better than the standard of institutional education.