As a key part of public transportation, online ride-hailing services dramatically alleviated pain points for riders, including finding taxis, opaque fares, and high costs. These services also increase the happiness of citizens as they get from Point A to Point B. But, despite the advantages that online ride-hailing offers, there are issues. As new energy vehicles become a larger part of the online ride hailing services, drivers are finding that locating charging piles and charging their new energy vehicles can be difficult. Recently, NaaS Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: NAAS) has begun collaborating with ONTIME. Both parties will leverage their technologies and resources to jointly improve the charging experience for new energy vehicle drivers within ONTIME's online ride-hailing services, helping to develop green and low-carbon travel.
ONTIME is an online car-hailing brand under the GAC Group. This brand expands the coverage of its high-quality services with its original "ripple mode" and steadily works to promote reform within the mobility industry. The company has developed multiple business lines such as ONTIME Express, ONTIME Enterprise Solutions, ONTIME Hitch, ONTIME Car Service, ONTIME Robotaxi, and ONTIME Designated driving. ONTIME's coverage area includes Guangzhou, Foshan, Zhuhai, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Zhongshan and other central cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, in addition to Changsha, a leading demonstration city for smart driving in China. Data from the Ministry of Transport indicates that the compliance rate of ONTIME's orders per month ranked first in Chinamultiple times, making it a leader in the industry's compliance development.
To promote the construction of low-carbon and green cities, ONTIME's operating vehicles are all energy-efficient and environmentally friendly new energy cars. Compared with private new energy vehicles, new energy e-hailing cars have higher and more frequent demand for charging. Drivers of these e-hailing cars are more sensitive than the average driver to issues like time to find chargers and charging costs.
NaaS, alongside its strategic partner Kuaidian, will introduce a charging service to the ONTIME Driver app. When a driver needs to charge, all they will need to do is to open ONTIME Driver and begin enjoying a seamless charging experience that allows them to quickly find chargers, start charging, and pay with the single press of a button. This service also offers drivers preferential charging prices and savings on charging costs and is expected to go live in October.
Cai Guohao, Vice President of Transport Capacity for ONTIME, said, "the collaboration with NaaS would further improve services for drivers, optimize their charging efficiency and experience, and continue to provide high-quality mobility services for users. As a well-known new energy service provider in the industry, NaaS offers comprehensive and systematic industry-level solutions. This cooperation will accelerate the sustainable commercial development of robotaxi as a service for ONTIME."
NaaS is one of the largest and fastest-growing EV charging service providers in China. It is an affiliate of Newlink Group, an energy digitalization enterprise, and covers the entire value chain of the new energy industry with its online, offline and non-electric services. As of June 30, 2022, NaaS operates in 358 cities across China and has connected to more than 400,000 chargers and 44,000 charging stations.. On June 13, NaaS was officially listed on NASDAQ with the stock code "NAAS", making it the first company to go public within China's electric vehicle charging service industry.
Liang Xing, Vice President of Operations for NaaS, said, "the use of new energy cars for online ride-hailing services is a general trend within the industry. Through this cooperation, NaaS will connect a digital charging network that encompasses the whole country to ONTIME, providing a convenient and affordable charging experience for new energy car drivers within ONTIME's online ride-hailing services, all while further assisting ONTIME to continually uplift its service quality, as well as to accelerate the sustainable commercial development of robotaxi as a service for ONTIME. As the 'connector' in the new energy industry, NaaS will continue to utilize its technology and resources to provide customized solutions for all parties involved in the industry."
Guangzhou and Shenzhen are among the major new energy automobile markets in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and cities that ONTIME focuses on in this particular region. NaaS and ONTIME will continue to enhance the charging experience for drivers of online ride-hailing new energy cars, promote the popularity of new energy cars, and help to realize carbon neutral transportation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
About NaaS Technology Inc.
NaaS Technology Inc. is one of the largest and fastest growing electric vehicle charging service providers in China. The firm is a subsidiary of NewLink, a leading energy digitalization group in China. NaaS offers a comprehensive one-stop shop to charger manufacturers and operators, OEMs, in-house delivery fleets as well as fleet operators, with online, offline, and non-electric services covering the entire EV industry value chain. As of June 30, 2022, NaaS operates in 358 cities across China and has connected to more than 400,000 chargers and 44,000 charging stations. On June 13, 2022, NaaS Technology Inc. was officially listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker NAAS.
