Chinese ridesharing giant Didi has now also entered the car rental business. (Photo : Twitter)
Chinese transportation authorities are now requiring drivers who wish to offer online car rental services to pass an exam first before being allowed to conduct their trade.
According to the latest regulations issued by the ministry of Transportation (MOT), drivers offering their services via taxis or using their own cars are required to first take and pass an exam, as well as submit necessary documents for them to be allowed to continue their work, the Global Times reported.
Those who failed to comply with the regulations will be fined between 5,000 yuan ($747.6) and 10,000 yuan ($1495.2) while serious offenders can expect to be meted as much as 30,000 yuan ($4495).
The new rules are part of regulations passed by several ministries headed by the MOT in July to oversee online car booking services. China is the first country to legalize and regulate the service on a nationwide scale.
Online car booking companies, including industry giant Didi Chuxing, welcomed the new regulations. According to Didi officials, they are currently reviewing their driver rosters to determine who have already passed and who are unqualified and will be making the necessary compliance measures.
Didi has just recently launched its own car rental service, simply dubbed Didi Car rental. Instead of building its own rental car fleet, the company;s new branch will instead use cars provided by leasing companies to rent out to its customers. The rental is made through Didi's mobile app, with the car being delivered to the customer;s location, The Motley Fool reported.
Didi began testing the new service in Shanghai since July and plans to roll it out to more cities in 2017.
The company says that it wants to take advantage of the current car rental boom in China, hence, it decided to offer its own service. Analysts estimate that the Chinese car rental market will likely grow to 51 billion yuan ($7.6 billion) by 2017.
