Photo/Shetuwang

Apr. 25 (NBD) -- Hello TransTech (formerly Hellobike), a Chinese mobility startup backed by Ant Financial, Alibaba's financial services arm, announced on Wednesday that it will provide subsidies for both drivers and passengers of its carpooling service during the upcoming May Day holiday.

The newcomer in the carpooling sector is planning to take 500 million yuan (74.3 million U.S. dollars) out of its pocket to set up a "green travel" fund, three months after the new service went online. The fund will strike a pose on the stage with this subsidy campaign.

Li Jinqing, an analyst with BigData Research, said the subsidy program of Hello will definitely stir the market, but it's early to say how much impact the campaign will exert on the carpooling market landscape in a short term.

Hello has an opportunity to steal significant market share from embattled Chinese ride-hailing leader Didi Chuxing which suspended its carpooling businesses for an infinite period after two murders committed by Didi drivers in 2018.

Coincidently, gaming behemoth Tencent was reported on Tuesday to have bought a 30 percent stake in a Guangzhou-based company which engages in car rental and car-hailing businesses.

Alibaba and Tencent lock horns on many fronts. The car-sharing sector seems to be one witnessing the most fierce competition. Tencent-backed food delivery giant Meituan also drove into ride-hailing.

Behind the ruthless competition between Internet giants in the car-hailing domain lies a huge mobility market. The think tank of consulting firm Analysys projected the Chinese mobility market size to touch 541 billion yuan (80 billion U.S. dollars) in 2019.

Email: gaohan@nbd.com.cn