Chinese chauffeured car service provider UCAR Inc announced Monday a strategic cooperation agreement with wholesale marketplace Alibaba.com, which is a subsidiary of Alibaba Group Holding.
The two companies will pursue strategic cooperation in many sectors, such as e-commerce car business, big data marketing, the application of cloud computing and smart cars, according to a press release UCAR sent to the Global Times on Monday.
Alibaba confirmed the agreement, but said right now it doesn't have any stake in the car-hailing company.
The companies will use each other's advantages in their respective sectors, technologies and ecosystems, the release said. They will aim to combine the nation's "Internet Plus" initiative with the car sector, according to the press release.
Rumors spread in March that Alibaba had become a shareholder in UCAR Inc by spending 3 billion yuan ($465 million) for a 9.8 percent stake, media reports said.
But Alibaba dismissed the rumor and said it has no further plans to invest in other car-hailing businesses except Didi Kuaidi, the leading ride-hailing company in China, according to media reports.
UCAR Inc did reach a strategic agreement with Alibaba on March 23 when it opened flagship store on Alitrip, the group's travel booking arm, domestic news portal news.ifeng.com reported in March.
More than 400 million Ali users will have access to UCAR services on the travel booking platform, the report said.
