????優步無疑是中國當前備受關注的公司。北京、上海和各大城市的乘客對整潔的車輛和熱情的司機贊不絕口。上周，在一份泄漏的備忘錄中，這家總部位于舊金山的公司表示，其在中國的日運營量達100萬次，而且打算明年將業務在現有11個城市的基礎上再拓展50個新城市。自2014年進入中國以來，它的迅猛增長可能是近些年來美國科技公司在中國斬獲的最佳成績。

????而不足為奇的是，優步采取的策略看來與十多年前，阿里巴巴迅速崛起之前的策略極為相似：讓利。

????當時，阿里巴巴免費向商家開放其交易平臺。如今，優步則向其司機發放高額的補貼。這種補貼有時基于接客單數，有時與車費掛鉤。但司機們表示，他們每個月能因此多進賬成百上千元，比正常的收入高出50%或更多。在某些時候，獎勵性補貼甚至是車費的三倍。

????這家公司同時也向使用“人民優步”產品的乘客發放補貼。該產品在中國實際上是非營利性質的，它將想賺補貼的車主與需要搭車的乘客進行供求匹配。用優步招車，搭乘一輛嶄新的黑色大眾轎車，價格通常比普通出租車便宜30%——很多車主現在全職干這個。而與優步的服務質量形成鮮明對比的是，普通出租車司機給不給乘客開空調還不一定。

????據泄漏出來的備忘錄顯示，公司首席執行官特拉維斯?卡蘭尼克對投資者說，2015年優步將在中國投入11億美元，其中很大一部分將用于補貼。他說：“我們的策略一直是通過競爭獲得市場份額，而不是去收買。”

????優步中國女發言人黃雪(音)說：“補貼類似于初期投資。”她指出，司機的補貼每日都會變化。“公司設定了一系列先決條件，不僅能夠激勵合作司機提供更好的服務，同時也可以確保高峰時段和惡劣天氣中的搭乘需求得到滿足。”

????十年前，阿里巴巴也用過類似的招數，靠著巨額補貼擊敗了當時在中國市場占優勢地位的易趣網。

????阿里巴巴于2003年開設了C2C市場平臺淘寶，供賣家免費使用。盡管在接下來的兩年中，阿里擴建淘寶的成本越來越高，而且沒有任何收入來源，但該公司于2005年再次承諾不收取任何費用，為期三年。在此期間，向賣家收費的易趣網市場份額一再縮減。2006年5月，當阿里巴巴試圖向賣家收取少量費用時，遭到了用戶一致反對，稱它違反了當初的承諾。此舉還引發了一場公關危機。而正是因為阿里巴巴等到壟斷市場之后才開始收費，如今財報才會如此亮眼。

????讓利并非是在中國獲得成功的唯一途徑，但這一做法卻屢見不鮮。騰訊網絡游戲的收費僅是一部日美視頻游戲機的零頭。小米手機的價格僅為iPhone的一半，但其在營銷中宣稱擁有毫不遜色的品質。而阿里巴巴曾長達數年免費開放交易平臺。

????簡單說來，就是大部分中國消費者對價格頗為敏感。雖然其收入相對較低，但希望獲得與西方國家相同的服務和產品。去年，中國人均年收入約為1.2萬美元，只與秘魯相當。因此為了贏取市場份額，各大公司競相削減價格。

????優步深知這一點，而且其CEO在公開講話中祭出了阿里巴巴馬云慣用的安撫口吻和雙贏態度。

????“我們所做的一切是為了讓城市變得更美好。如果優步能夠與當地政府和領導攜手共同實現這一進步，城市將獲益匪淺。” 特拉維斯?卡蘭尼克上月在中國的一次會議上發表講話時稱，同時不忘提及優步在上個月為中國創造了6萬多個就業機會。

????相比之下，看看馬云在去年阿里巴巴IPO時所寫的內容：

????“自1999年成立以來，我們已經幫助數百萬小企業實現了更光明的未來……今后，我們評價成功與否的標準將是為改變世界做了多少。”

????優步在中國的成功并非完全靠補貼。公司聘請的管理人員都是本土人才而不是外國人。它還與百度簽署了協議，在百度地圖中增加了優步叫車功能模塊。CEO已多次到訪中國與政府會面，緩和與出租車行業的緊張局面。

????但司機們表示，補貼是他們使用優步的原因。乘客也是如此。這一策略此前曾在中國取得了成功。但阿里巴巴和其他案例告訴我們，讓利可能需要持續很久。（財富中文網）

????翻譯：Donna

????審校：夏林

????Uber is an undeniable hit in China right now. Riders in Beijing, Shanghai and central cities rave about the clean cars and enthusiastic drivers and last week the San Francisco-based company said it counts 1 million rides a day in the country and plans to expand to 50 more cities in the next year from 11 cities today, according to a leaked memo. After opening in early 2014, Uber’s growth might be the best performance by a U.S. tech company in China in years.

????And no wonder: Uber’s strategy looks remarkably similar to one Alibaba employed more than a decade earlier before its rapid ascent. Namely, discount, discount, discount.

????Alibaba gave sellers free access to its platforms. Uber is doling out big subsidies to its drivers. Sometimes Uber’s are based on the number of rides, other times it’s fare specific. But drivers say they can pull in hundreds more dollars a month—50% or more of their usual take— with some rides earning them a bonus of three times the fare.

????Uber also subsidizes riders in its People’s Uber program, technically a nonprofit in China. It runs the service that matches drivers looking for bonuses with people looking for rides. An Uber ride in a new, black Volkswagen—many of the drivers do it full-time—is usually 30% cheaper than a ride in a yellow taxi whose driver may or may not turn on the air conditioning.

????CEO Travis Kalanick said in the leaked memo to investors that Uber was investing $1.1 billion in China in 2015. A lot of the money is likely being used on subsidies. “Our strategy has been to compete for market share versus acquire it,” he said.

????“It’s like an initial investment,” says Huang Xue, an Uber China spokeswoman. She says driver bonuses change by the day. “There are a number of preconditions that incentivize our driver partners to provide better service and ensure demand is met in peak times and bad weather.”

????A decade ago, Alibaba did something similar when it spent huge on subsidies to defeat then-dominate eBay in China.

????Taobao, Alibaba’s consumer to consumer marketplace, opened in 2003 with zero fees for sellers. In 2005, after two years of mounting costs building Taobao and no revenues, Alibaba again promised no fees—this time for another three years. EBay, meanwhile, charged sellers and steadily lost share. In May 2006, when Alibaba tried to introduce a small fee-program, users revolted and said Alibaba was reneging on its promises. It was a PR disaster. Alibaba waited until it had dominate market share before it began charging the fees that driver its earnings reports today.

????Discounts aren’t the only path to success in China, but they are a reoccurring theme. Tencent’s online games cost a fraction of Japanese and American video game consoles. Xiaomi’s phones are half as expensive as an iPhone but marketed as equal in quality (an illusion). Alibaba gave away free access to its marketplace for years.

????The quick explanation is that the majority of Chinese consumers are especially sensitive about price. They want the same services and goods they see in the West even though their incomes are relatively low. Last year China’s per capita income was the equivalent of $12,000—about the same as Peru’s. Companies cut their prices to win market share.

????Uber knows this, and Kalanick’s public comments strike the conciliatory tone and win-win attitude that Alibaba’s Ma often evokes.

????“Everything we do is focused on making cities better. The benefits come to cities when Uber works with local government and local leaders to make this progress a reality,”Kalanick told a Chinese conference last month, making sure to mention that Uber had created more than 60,000 jobs in China the past month.

????Compare that to what Ma wrote in Alibaba’s IPO filings last year:

????“Since our founding in 1999, we have helped millions of small businesses to achieve a brighter future… In the future, we will be judged by how much progress we bring to the world.”

????Uber’s success in China isn’t all about subsidies. It hired local managers instead of bringing over foreigners. It signed deals with Baidu to integrate into Baidu maps, China’s equivalent of Google Maps. And Kalanick has visited the country a handful of times, meeting with governments to ease tensions from taxi groups.

????But subsidies are the reason drivers say they use Uber. Customers have followed. It’s a strategy that has worked before in China. But in Alibaba’s case and others’, it can mean discounting for a long time.