Geely, Daimler in talks for ride-hailing service

Chinese billionaire Li Shufu may have found the glue to start binding together the automobile assets he has assembled across the globe - by creating an entirely new business altogether.

Li's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co is in talks with Daimler AG - in which Li took an almost 10 percent stake earlier this year - to set up ride-hailing and car-sharing services in China, according to people familiar with the matter. Under discussion is a 50-50 venture that would take on market leader Didi Chuxing, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential.

The venture would target an expanding market for the new types of transport services that has been dominated so far by tech companies like Didi and Uber Technologies Inc. Automakers are scrambling to establish themselves in new technologies, as car-sharing and autonomous driving threaten to upend the traditional model of vehicle ownership.