Didi-backed Uber rival coming to London

Intense competition in London's taxi market is about to get tougher, as a new Uber rival, backed by China's Didi Chuxing, gets ready to launch.

Taxify, which works on a similar basis to Uber, is originally Estonian.[Photo:huanqiu.com]

Taxify, which works on a similar basis to Uber, is originally Estonian. The company has gained a strong foothold against Uber in the local marketplace, has recently won the backing of Didi Chuxing.

Investment from DiDi is one of the factors enabling Taxify to expand further into the European marketplace, as well as launch in African cities.

A crucial part of that expansion is to target London's taxi market. The company has already opened an office in the King's Cross area of the city, and has started driver training for a launch expected in the next few months.

Alongside financial investment, DiDi will also help the Estonian firm with technological resources and developments.

Uber currently enjoys a virtual monopoly on ride-hailing in London, and so it will be interesting to see how it reacts to the new competition.

Interestingly, DiDi and Uber have a complicated relationship - and it's worth noting that the Chinese firm is also an investor in the American one.

Last year, the American firm agreed to merge its Chinese business with local rival Didi in a deal that was worth a reported $35 billion.

That agreement marked the end of costly battle for customers between the two companies.

It valued Uber globally at an astonishing $68 billion, and saw DiDi invest hundreds of millions of dollars into the worldwide arm of Uber.