File photo/Zhang Jian (NBD)

May 30 (NBD) -- Toyota Motor is considering investing about 60 billion yen (537.3 million U.S. dollars) in Chinese ride-hailing service provider Didi Chuxing, Nikkei reported Wednesday.

The Japanese auto manufacturer is also weighing setting up a new mobility service company in China, Nikkei said.

When reached by National Business Daily (NBD), a person-in-charge with Toyota China didn't deny the report, but said, "We are exploring the possibilities of cooperation with many companies including Didi." 

According to the Nikkei report, the new joint venture between Toyota and Didi would buy vehicles from Toyota and lease them to drivers who use Didi's services. Toyota dealers would provide maintenance. To comply with China's regulations concerning new-energy vehicles, China-made electric cars will likely be included in the fleet in 2020 or onwards. 

It is believed the two parties have massive potentials in further cooperation. 

Early last year, Toyota partnered with a number of companies including Didi, Uber, and Mazda to form the "e-Palette Alliance" that will create a broad-based ecosystem of hardware and software support designed to help a range of companies utilize advanced mobility technology to better serve customers.

"Based on the cooperation last year, Toyota and Didi will deepen tie-ups in the mobility service area this year," the above-mentioned person-in-charge told NBD. 

In the view of auto industry analyst Zhong Shi, investing in Didi is crucial to Toyota's foray into China's mobility area, as Didi alone occupies 90 percent share of the country's ride-hailing market. "The investment will help Toyota gain greater access to China's enormous consumption data as well as deeper insights into the development of the country's mobility industry," Zhong commented.  

Email: lansuying@nbd.com.cn