Geely stepped up in a major way, both financially and with service, to help the people of Wuhan, including free-for-hire ride shares.
Wuhan is a quarantined city right now but with 11 million people, and with literally the 7th most populous cities in China life must go on. Earlier today (Jan. 28,2020) Geely announced they are contributing upwards of $28 million “to support the prevention and control of the Coronavirus epidemic in Hubei, Guangdong, Zhejiang and Henan provinces, as well as other areas around the China that are experiencing coronavirus outbreaks.”
Part of that fight includes a free-ride hailing service which I’ll go into detail shortly. But first, check out the dozens of sedans and drivers that Geely is using to get the people of Wuhan where they need to go below.
CaoCao ride hailing in Wuhan on the front lines offering services to those who need it most pic.twitter.com/NdNXDjup2O
— Ash Sutcliffe (@geely_ash) January 28, 2020
Geely is leveraging the size of its company and global reach to fund research fighting the Coronavirus, procure medical supplies to help prevent the spread of said virus, and is donating dozens of vehicles and drivers to keep Wuhan mobile in these trying times.
Our colleagues from Geely Sweden preparing to ship 250,000 masks to epidemic affected areas in China. pic.twitter.com/0qaJ3Aynqi
— Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (@GeelyHolding) January 28, 2020
Two years ago, Geely completed funding and launched its own ride hailing service called CaoCao Car, a mobility move by Geely that’s paying dividends today.
According to Automotive World,
Cao Cao Technology, the Chinese ride-hailing taxi operator, has emerged as the country’s leading provider of new mobility services with more than 4.75 million monthly active users, according to new industry research by Aurora Mobile.
To help fight the Corona Virus, according to Geely in their press release,
CaoCao, Geely’s ride hailing service has set up an emergency epidemic prevention and control fleet for the Wuhan area which will provide free mobility services for residents in Wuhan. All measures have been taken to ensure the safety of the drivers in their service. The CaoCao Mobility Operation Center and a special dispatch team will cooperate with authorities on the round-the-clock dispatch of vehicles for epidemic prevention and control.
The cars look like Emgrand EVs, a variant of Geely’s Emgrand sedan, capable of 186 miles on a single charge.
Geely knows and understands that a car company is more than factories producing, distributing, and selling cars, it comprises a human workforce.
Geely also has a vested interest in Wuhan. Earlier last year, Geely broke ground on a $1.3 Billion assembly plant for high-end Lotus vehicles there. When Geely officially opens this factory they will presumably source workers from the surrounding Wuhan areas.
Props to Geely for their philanthropic work and their commitment to fighting the Coronavirus on the front lines.
