By Wu Yuqing, Edited by Tian Zhe
"From merely selling cars to integrating them into local cities, Chinese NEVs going global are now addressing the most challenging piece of the puzzle. "
Brazil, with a total population of over 200 million, has seen ride-hailing become a crucial component of urban mobility, with the industry's penetration rate even higher than that in China. It is the country with the largest number of overseas drivers for Uber, and the 99 ride-hailing platform also boasts over 1 million partner drivers.
The market scale is massive, but drivers are not having an easier time.
Relevant data released by the Brazilian Superior Labor Court in June this year shows that local ride-hailing drivers face high monthly operating costs. Expenses such as fuel, maintenance, insurance, and depreciation are continuously squeezing drivers' incomes.
Theoretically, electric vehicles (EVs) can reduce the largest energy expenditure among these costs, but the higher threshold for vehicle acquisition makes saving money less straightforward.
Brazil is precisely the overseas market that Chinese New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) are fiercely competing for. In 2025, EV sales in Brazil reached approximately 180,000 units, accounting for 9% of new car sales, making it one of the most critical markets for electrification growth in Latin America.
On one side are ride-hailing drivers looking to reduce operating costs; on the other are the increasing number of Chinese NEVs entering Brazil. However, even when the cars arrive, drivers may not be able to afford them, let alone use them at a low cost.
At this juncture, 99, the Brazilian ride-hailing platform under Didi, and Movida have launched a leasing program targeting 50,000 drivers, offering vehicles suitable for ride-hailing operations at more favorable prices.
The collaboration between 99 and Movida begins to connect both ends. How Chinese NEVs can become daily mobility tools for local drivers after entering the Brazilian market has become a new challenge for Chinese automakers going global.
01. Didi in Brazil: No Longer Just a Ride-Hailing Platform
Over the past few years, Chinese automakers such as BYD, Chery, GAC, and Changan have continuously brought NEV models to overseas markets. But after these vehicles arrive at their destinations via ocean shipping, how can they transition from ports into urban transportation systems and become daily production tools for local drivers?
In fact, a frequently overlooked reason for the rapid popularization of Chinese NEVs today is that it was not achieved solely by automakers.
In the Chinese market, behind the large-scale application of NEVs, in addition to automakers continuously launching products, there is also the participation of multiple parties, including ride-hailing platforms, operating enterprises, and battery swapping and charging systems, jointly driving NEVs from a new technology to a high-frequency transportation tool.
The ride-hailing industry has played a special role in this process.
Because ride-hailing vehicles cover higher daily mileage, drivers are more sensitive to energy costs and vehicle efficiency. When NEVs began entering the market, ride-hailing drivers naturally became a group of high-frequency seed users.
Didi itself is also a participant in this transformation. By the end of 2025, the number of registered NEVs on the Didi platform had exceeded 8 million, and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for over 74% of the total ride-hailing service mileage in China.
This experience is being taken overseas by Didi. In 2024, Didi announced in Mexico that, in partnership with automakers, charging, financial, and insurance partners, it would introduce 100,000 EVs by 2030.
A Didi executive in Mexico once said, "Ride-hailing is a catalyst for electric mobility because these vehicles cover the most kilometers, making them an ideal choice for electrification."
Therefore, as Chinese NEVs go global, ride-hailing platforms can also serve as crucial entry points for local implementation.
However, to replicate this platform capability overseas, domestic operational experience alone is not enough; a network deeply embedded in the local market is also required.
Didi's role as a bridge connecting Chinese NEVs with real-world scenarios in Brazil largely depends on its deep accumulation in the local market over the past few years.
In 2018, Didi acquired 99, a local Brazilian mobility platform, officially establishing its presence in Latin America's largest economy. Since then, in addition to its core mobility business, 99 has continuously expanded into local life services such as delivery, payments, and food delivery.
Today, 99 has formed a business system covering mobility, food delivery, item delivery, and digital banking, and the scale of this network is already quite substantial.
As of 2026, 99 has over 60 million users and over 2.5 million partner drivers and riders (including over 1 million ride-hailing drivers) in Brazil. Its business covers more than 4,400 cities, handling over 3 billion service requests annually.
Within Didi's overall international business, this localized expansion continues. Currently, Didi's international business covers multiple markets in Latin America, Asia-Pacific, and Africa, providing over 100 million users with services including mobility, food delivery, and digital finance.
In the first quarter of 2026, the daily average order volume of Didi's international business was nearly 14 million, with an annual active user base of over 100 million, and over 8 million annual active drivers and food delivery riders. Didi's international business completed 1.255 billion orders, a year-on-year increase of 26.9%, while maintaining profitability.
What Didi has in Brazil is no longer just a ride-hailing app that matches drivers and passengers. On one side are tens of millions of users, millions of drivers, and real demand generated by orders; on the other side are payments, finance, delivery, and a cooperative network accumulated over years of local operations. Together, they constitute an operational infrastructure capable of accommodating more industrial demands.
After 99 has taken deep root in Brazil, this overseas network has begun to link back to China's industrial capabilities, accommodating the overseas expansion needs of Chinese NEVs and related industrial chains.
NEVs are becoming one of the first industries to be integrated into this network, which also forms the background for the collaboration between 99 and Movida.
Recently, 99 signed a cooperation agreement with Movida, a Brazilian car rental company. The two parties will launch a preferential leasing program, including NEVs, for ride-hailing drivers on the 99 platform, which is expected to benefit at least 50,000 drivers over the next three years. Both parties estimate that this collaboration will help drivers reduce their car rental costs by approximately 25%.
It is evident that Chinese enterprises are no longer just bringing products and technologies overseas; they are beginning to leverage established local operational networks to drive the industrial chain to truly enter local markets.
02. Going Global as a Group: How Didi Connects China's NEV Industrial Chain with the Brazilian Market
For an NEV to truly enter an overseas market, the problems to be solved go far beyond just finding buyers.
Where the vehicles come from, how drivers are acquired, where to charge, and who bears the operating funds—each link corresponds to different participants behind it.
Therefore, after 99 gradually established its local operational network in Brazil, the next step was to organize enterprises originally scattered across the industrial chain to pool resources for major initiatives.
In 2022, 99 took the lead in establishing the "Brazil Sustainable Mobility Alliance." Initially, the alliance had only a dozen enterprises. Driven by 99, the membership has now increased to 31, covering various fields such as automotive manufacturing, leasing, energy, and finance.
According to data disclosed by 99, since the establishment of the alliance, members' related investments in transportation electrification have exceeded 410 million Brazilian reais (approximately 536 million RMB).
Compared to simply introducing a batch of NEVs, the difference in this model is that each participant is a crucial role in perfecting the ride-hailing ecosystem network.
This model is similar to the path in the development of China's NEVs, where automakers first solve the problem of vehicle supply. For example, in 2023, BYD collaborated with 99 to bring 300 D1 BEVs to São Paulo.
This model was jointly developed by BYD and Didi specifically for the ride-hailing scenario. Upon arriving in Brazil, it was handed over to 99 platform drivers for operation through a leasing model. At that time, BYD executives also explicitly mentioned their hope to bring the project experience accumulated in Shenzhen to Brazil.
However, having the cars does not equate to local drivers being able to use them at a low cost. Although NEVs have lower long-term operating costs, the purchase cost remains relatively high. The leasing model can lower the threshold for drivers to enter the NEV operation system.
This year, 99 has also partnered with Seteloc, a local fleet management and leasing company, planning to provide drivers with 400 EVs. Seteloc will be responsible for vehicle assets and operational support, while 99 will inject platform orders, further lowering the threshold for drivers to acquire NEVs.
Additionally, in Brazil, insufficient charging infrastructure has always been a bottleneck for NEV promotion. As of February 2026, Brazil had approximately 21,000 public and semi-public charging stations, while the scale of plug-in vehicles approached 395,000, meaning the energy supply still faces pressure.
Therefore, 99 has also begun to further extend into the energy infrastructure segment.
In June this year, GAC, a Brazilian charging infrastructure company GreenV, and 99 reached another collaboration, planning to build 242 fast-charging points by 2030. GAC will provide charging equipment, GreenV will be responsible for investment and operation, and 99 will introduce relatively stable charging demand through its platform drivers.
For NEVs going global, it is increasingly difficult for a single enterprise to fight alone. From BYD and Seteloc to GAC and GreenV, the division of labor in these collaborations has become increasingly clear: automakers provide products, leasing companies manage assets, energy companies make up for infrastructure, and 99 is responsible for connecting vehicles, drivers, and orders.
Compared to simple exports, going global as a group allows Chinese NEV automakers to no longer solve all problems alone after entering an unfamiliar market. Instead, they can leverage local operational networks to integrate into systems for drivers, leasing, and energy replenishment.
Consequently, 99 has gradually transformed from a ride-hailing platform into an operational infrastructure connecting China's industrial chain with local Brazilian resources, ultimately enabling vehicles to truly enter and sustainably operate within the local urban transportation system.
03. Leasing Leverages More Than Just 50,000 Drivers
Building the ecosystem is only the first step; what determines whether this model can operate in the long term is whether each party can figure out its own economic account.
Since the beginning of this year, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz once pushed up international oil prices, and diesel prices in Brazil also rose rapidly. In contrast, foreign media pointed out that the large number of electric taxis and ride-hailing vehicles rapidly popularized in the Chinese market are becoming a barrier to buffer the impact of oil price shocks.
For ride-hailing drivers operating at high frequencies, energy costs are directly related to their income, which also makes the economic efficiency of NEVs more prominent.
Data released by 99 shows that after Brazilian ride-hailing drivers switch from fuel vehicles to EVs, fuel expenditures can drop by up to 80%. Even with higher EV rental costs, combined with platform subsidies and electricity fees, the comprehensive cost can still be reduced by approximately 2,120 Brazilian reais (about 2,770 RMB).
However, the issue is that saving money by changing the energy form is a long-term process, and the higher vehicle price is the first threshold facing drivers.
In Brazil, the cost for local drivers to buy a Chinese NEV starts at around 120,000 Brazilian reais. This year, the Brazilian government even specifically launched a preferential credit plan of up to 30 billion Brazilian reais to help ride-hailing and taxi drivers purchase new cars, which also indirectly illustrates that vehicle acquisition costs remain a practical obstacle for this group.
This is also the significance of the leasing model, as it solves the biggest challenge in NEV promotion. It transforms the one-time pressure of purchasing a car into continuous vehicle usage costs, making it easier for drivers to cross the acquisition threshold for NEVs.
For 99, the decrease in drivers' operating costs helps stabilize platform capacity and advance the platform's electrification goals. For leasing companies like Movida, millions of drivers bring stable, high-frequency leasing demands, making it easier to improve the asset utilization efficiency of leasing enterprises.
For Chinese automakers, ride-hailing provides a real operational scenario that can continuously absorb vehicles and validate products. Currently, the number of registered electric and hybrid vehicles on the 99 platform has exceeded 49,000.
Therefore, the collaboration between 99 and Movida, beyond how many drivers this leasing benefit can cover, is more importantly forming a commercial cycle among drivers, the platform, leasing companies, and automakers that can operate independently without relying on the promotion of a single project.
According to 99's current plan, over the next five years, 99 hopes to promote the registration and operation of over 300,000 NEVs in Brazil. If this economic relationship can be established, scale will follow.
As the globalization of NEVs enters a new stage, geographical export is no longer the endpoint. A car is only truly considered to have gone global when it finds people willing to use it, enters a stable operational scenario, and is continuously absorbed by the local commercial system.