According to reports, China’s top ride-hailing company Didi, has started a car manufacturing project.

The project will be headed by Yang Jun, vice president of Didi and general manager of Xiaoju Automobile Solutions. Mr. Yang is also the chief product officer of the D1, a customized online car-hailing jointly released by Didi and BYD.

And the team has already started to poach people from car manufacturers. However, the media has not yet been informed of the specific form and path of Didi’s car manufacturing.

A source familiar with the matter says Zhu Jiang, who was formerly vice president of NIO’s user development, may join Didi. Zhu Jiang has years of experience in car companies, having worked at BMW Brilliance, Lexus, NIO and Ford China.

Didi’s car manufacturing business, is not baseless, and there have been several projects related to car manufacturing in progress.

In November 2019, Didi and BYD established a joint venture, Meihao Chuxing (Hangzhou) Automobile Technology Co., Ltd., in which Didi holds a 35% stake.

In June 2020, Didi’s subsidiary, DiDi Autonomous Driving announced cooperation with BAIC Group, in which the two sides will jointly develop high-level self-driving customized models specifically for RoboTaxi (self-driving cab) operations.

Some analysts believe that the move may pave the way for listing valuation of Didi, and believe that the way out to increase its valuation lies in making cars.