Generali Global Assistance recently announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Lyft, to bring new levels of connected customer service and cost containment to its clientele of insurance companies and multinational corporations. Generali Global Assistance provides a suite of services to help travelers in times of need – from minor inconveniences to life-threatening medical situations – and everything in between. Generali Global Assistance counts more than 50 of the top accident, health, property and casualty insurers among the clients that utilize their assistance services – in addition to their own travel insurance business unit. The partnership

Photo: Shutterstock.com Since Uber's launch, the company has been the market leader in the ride-hailing sector, and although other companies have come along, none seemed to be able to knock it off its "top dog" position. Lyft has been trailing behind Uber, but it is only now that the smaller competitor could be catching up, as Uber attempts to cut losses by raising fees, whereas Lyft is using a cash infusion to expand its U.S. presence. According to a recent report by the travel-expense software maker Certify, Uber's share of the U.S. ground transportation market among business travelers fell to 54%

Photo: Shutterstock.com Guazi.com, China’s largest online used car sales site by volume, will begin offering new vehicles as well after it has completed its latest round of fundraising, as competition intensifies in the world’s largest car market. The move comes hot on the heels of the launch of Maodou, a site that deals in just new cars, both sold and leased. Interested customers can get a hands-on feel of their preferred models in outlets before making their decision. The Beijing-based Maodou has signed cooperative agreements with 24 leading manufacturers – offering 70 different models – including Changan, SAIC Volkswagen Automotive, Infiniti and

CarNow recently announced its partnership with PCG Companies to support open standards for Google Analytics events and goals for the automotive industry. The company joins the growing movement to empower auto dealers with accurate data to improve their marketing mix. CarNow's platform was recently certified to be compliant with the PCG Google Analytics Specification for the automotive industry. CarNow has been working closely with PCG Companies to identify the key engagement indicators in both the Visual Sales Messenger and BuyNow products.  CarNow's advanced solutions deliver top tier results by empowering dealers to deliver white-glove, concierge level process to their digital customers. 

It seems that Uber may be on track to make more money selling a building it owns in Oakland, California rather than selling rides.  over the last 10 months. According to an article on Slate.com, in 2015, Uber bought the old Sears building in downtown Oakland for $123.5 million, with plans of moving its headquarters from San Francisco, but that never happened. Now Uber is in the process of selling its 380,000-square foot building for $220 million, according to a report from the Registry, a website that covers Bay Area real estate deals. In August of this year, Uber reported a

Facedrive Inc., a new Toronto-based ridesharing service has officially launched, introducing the industry's first service to include a carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reduction plan through its partnership with The Toronto Parks and Tree Foundation (TPTF). Facedrive is licensed throughout Ontario and is servicing Toronto and the downtown core. Facedrive's in app algorithm calculates estimated CO2 for each car journey and allocates an equivalent monetary value that will go to the TPTF, a charity that works in partnership with the City of Toronto, community groups, neighbourhoods, individuals and the business community to re-imagine local parks and improve the health of Toronto'surban forest by supporting tree planting and stewardship efforts. "We

Tooykrub / Shutterstock.com Chinese on-demand taxi service Didi Chuxing, is said to be partnering with Japanese ride-hailing service provider Daiichi Koutsu Sangyo and may be launching an app-based taxi service in Tokyo in the spring. As unlicensed private vehicles are generally prohibited from engaging in paid transportation in Japan, Didi intends on entering the Japanese market via taxicabs rather than private vehicles. Didi plans to register about 500 of Daiichi Koutsu's 8,700 taxi vehicles in its proprietary app by its rollout in Japan, with the number eventually rising to a few thousand. Didi will expand the service nationally by collaborating with other Japanese

Photo credit: Shutterstock Facebook has announced it is creating a dedicated section of Marketplace for vehicles. According to an article by TechCrunch, consumers looking to buy a vehicle now will be able to use new search filters to find a ride with a specific type, make, model, mileage, transmission, and more from both people and car dealerships like Edmunds, Cars.com, Auction123, CDK Global, and SocialDealer. Checking pricing against the industry standard Kelly’s Blue Book, will be easy to do, as well as contacting dealers via Messenger bots in real-time, as opposed to filling out a contact form and waiting to

Chinese car-sharing company Ezzy has abruptly shut down services, leaving its customers unable to withdraw their 2,000 yuan ($300) deposits on the platform. The Bejing-based company launched in 2016. Currently Ezzy's official social media account states that it has suspended services and that it has proceeded liquidation. Known for its fleet of luxury automobiles, including BMW and Audi electric cars, Ezzy's model was to take 2,000 yuan from regular users as a deposit and charges them 1.5 yuan ($0.23) per minute for usage. A Chinese language article stated that many users that had filed applications on the app to withdraw their

Taxi-hailing service Maramoja began as a sort-of African Uber, but it has taken a different spin on the concept since then. Maramoja CEO Jason Eisen, Maramoja's CEO told TechCrunch that he came to Africa with the idea to start basically Uber for Africa. “The idea was bring some technology to the Nairobi tech scene, which was blossoming, but nothing was happening in transportation.” However, Uber, with its billions of dollars in venture capital, has eventually made its way to Africa after al, which consequently prompted Maramoja to rethink its model somewhat. Eisen said that Maramoja does not treat its driveres like commodities,