Uber wants to double its expansion rate in China

With hundreds of millions of people, low levels of car ownership, really crowded cities, and underdeveloped public transit, China may be Uber’s most important market. CEO Travis Kalanick seems to agree, because he recently announced that the company will be doubling its expansion plans in the country, with Uber now expected to expand to more than 100 Chinese cities over the next year. It’s not going to be an easy expansion, however, as Asia is the only place where Uber isn’t the undisputed king of the ride-sharing market, and it’s going to have to compete with a bunch of local ride-sharing services.

Uber is adding more gas to its China endeavor, with CEO Travis Kalanick announcing plans to expand to 100 cities over the next year. That’s double the number of cities he told investors three months ago. It’s no secret that China is a significant part of the company’s strategy and a big reason why Uber has reached a $51 billion valuation. The market there is huge, and four out of Uber’s 10 largest cities in terms of numbers of trips are now in China, according to the company. It needs to succeed there if it wants to return money to its latest-stage investors, who are banking on the Asian market as Uber’s next source of growth. Aside from the rational reasons for Uber to commit to China, there is some emotional motivation as well, highlighted in a recent Fast Company profile on Travis Kalanick. Asia is the last place Uber is still an underdog, and Kalanick does his best work when the odds are stacked against him. According to the profile, he always has, from the time he ran track in high school — and was put on the final leg of the 4×400 meter relay because he was more driven when coming from behind — to his era of struggle as CEO of his former company RedSwoosh — which he called a “revenge business” against big media companies who sued him.