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Technology
AutoNavi becomes first Chinese mapping app to break 100mn daily user milestone
May 20, 2020
undefined mins
Alibaba’s maps app, AutoNavi, has broken the 100mn daily user threshold for the first time, South China Morning Post said
AutoNavi, founded in 2001, was acquired by Alibaba in 2014 for US$1.5bn and has evolved from a standard navigation platform into a super app.
The increasingly popular super app model enables a range of varied functions through one app, and has been popularized by the success of Tencent’s WeChat.
AutoNavi launched a ridesharing feature within its app earlier this year, which was temporarily suspended following safety concerns sparked by the deaths of two Didi Hitch customers.
SCMP added that AutoNavi’s user numbers mean it is more popular than Baidu Maps, its closest navigation app rival in China, although Baidu has not announced any recent user figures.
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It said, “Data from Quest Mobile last year showed that Baidu Maps had 300 million monthly active users.”
“AutoNavi has become China’s largest data platform for [map services], with an ecosystem covering China’s entire transport and mobility industry,” said AutoNavi president Liu Zhenfei.
“We are now an important infrastructure when it comes to the mobile internet.”
SCMP noted that AutoNavi’s user figures have been released in tandem with China’s National Day, the beginning of the Golden Week Holiday which typically sees millions of people travelling for family gatherings.
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