<p>China's ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing and electric vehicle maker BYD plan to launch this year a test batch of a vehicle they have designed for ride-hailing services, a person familiar with the matter said.</p>.<p>BYD received approval from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to sell an electric sedan model called D1 last month, according to government documents. A person close to Didi and BYD's joint venture told Reuters D1 is the purpose-built vehicle for ride-hailing services developed by the two firms.</p>.<p>The person, who declined to be named as the information is not public, said the companies were trying to deliver the vehicles to Didi's fleet partner companies within this year.</p>.<p>Shenzhen-based BYD, which is backed by US investor Warren Buffett, was not immediately available for comment.</p>.<p>Didi, which is China's biggest ride-hailing service provider, is developing a swathe of auto-related technologies. It has launched several joint ventures with established automakers including Volkswagen, BAIC, and BYD to develop intelligent vehicles and fleet management.</p>.<p>In 2018, Didi formed an alliance with automakers to develop purpose-built cars for ride-hailing, with the company offering its customer and operational skills to automakers wanting to develop their own ride-hailing services in return for design expertise. D1 is the first known model since the announcement.</p>.<p>The move underscores how tech firms, from software makers for self-driving vehicles to car-sharing platforms, are disrupting traditional automakers amid major shifts towards electric vehicles and pay-per-use models.</p>.<p>Didi is also in the midst of expanding its operations in China with its CEO Cheng Wei setting a goal of completing 100 million orders a day and reaching 800 million monthly active users globally by 2022.</p>
<p>China's ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing and electric vehicle maker BYD plan to launch this year a test batch of a vehicle they have designed for ride-hailing services, a person familiar with the matter said.</p>.<p>BYD received approval from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to sell an electric sedan model called D1 last month, according to government documents. A person close to Didi and BYD's joint venture told Reuters D1 is the purpose-built vehicle for ride-hailing services developed by the two firms.</p>.<p>The person, who declined to be named as the information is not public, said the companies were trying to deliver the vehicles to Didi's fleet partner companies within this year.</p>.<p>Shenzhen-based BYD, which is backed by US investor Warren Buffett, was not immediately available for comment.</p>.<p>Didi, which is China's biggest ride-hailing service provider, is developing a swathe of auto-related technologies. It has launched several joint ventures with established automakers including Volkswagen, BAIC, and BYD to develop intelligent vehicles and fleet management.</p>.<p>In 2018, Didi formed an alliance with automakers to develop purpose-built cars for ride-hailing, with the company offering its customer and operational skills to automakers wanting to develop their own ride-hailing services in return for design expertise. D1 is the first known model since the announcement.</p>.<p>The move underscores how tech firms, from software makers for self-driving vehicles to car-sharing platforms, are disrupting traditional automakers amid major shifts towards electric vehicles and pay-per-use models.</p>.<p>Didi is also in the midst of expanding its operations in China with its CEO Cheng Wei setting a goal of completing 100 million orders a day and reaching 800 million monthly active users globally by 2022.</p>