Nov. 16 (NBD) -- Leading players from different industries are flocking to the car-sharing sector, despite the successive discontinuation of operation of car-sharing firms UU Cars and EZZY.

In early November, Chinese ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing announced its plan to set up a global new-energy vehicle service firm, a part of its efforts to expand into the entire car-sharing industry chain.

Just after Didi Chuxing's announcement, bike-sharing giant Mobike voiced its ambition to grab a share of the car-sharing market.

In addition, Chinese group-buying and food delivery company Meituan is intending to extend its reach into car-sharing, given its want ads to hire iOS algorithm engineers and senior Java engineers for car-sharing.

Top industry players' shift to the niche sector has a lot to do with China's policy guidance since this year.

In August, the country's Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development jointly issued the Guiding Opinion on Promoting the Healthy Development of Minicar Rentals, which includes time-share rental in the urban mobility system and requires governments at all levels to come up with supportive policies and measures.

Yang Yang, founder of car-rental and car-sharing app Feezu, told NBD that as the Chinese government's attitude towards time-share rental is getting clear, the business model for car-sharing will become more mature.

Apart from the increase of newcomers, investors show stronger interest in car-sharing.

Data shows that the investment injected into the area rose from 10 million yuan (1.5 million U.S. dollars) to 150 million yuan (22.6 million U.S. dollars) from 2013 to 2016, an increase of 50 million yuan (7.5 million U.S. dollars) per year.

However, in the first six months of this year, the amount of financing of several car-sharing firms amounted to around 400 million yuan (60.3 million U.S. dollars). It is predicted that the segment's financing growth will surpass 800 percent throughout the year.

In addition to the policy boost, the maturity of the car-sharing market is also an important reason for the thriving growth.

Thanks to the continual adjustments in recent years, early entrants in the car-sharing sector have found mature profit modes, with some already making both ends meet while some even staying in the black.

Based on the experience of these early players, big companies with ample fund are making their way into the market with the help of relatively mature operating models.

Automakers like BAIC Group, SAIC Motor, and Geely have launched their own car-sharing projects.

A source with BAIC said to NBD that the company now has five car-sharing projects. Viewed as a part of the business chain, car-sharing is of significant influence to BAIC's brand publicity and sales growth, and carmakers now enjoy an edge over car-sharing platforms in business operations, the source added.

Besides, Yang said that there are a number of big players still taking a wait-and-see attitude and waiting for their perfect shot, represented by large energy companies, telecommunication groups, and real estate enterprises. The landscape of the car-sharing market is expected to undergo huge changes over the next few years.  

Email: lansuying@nbd.com.cn