Uber Technologies, Inc. has been struggling internally for quite some time now. Due to this internal struggle, it’s also been struggling externally. For example, the company went through the “Delete Uber” phase where they lost painful market share in many key markets. On the other hand, Lyft is taking advantage of Uber’s painful experience and bringing things up a notch.
Lyft has announced that the company will begin its international expansion, new report from Recode states. Lyft said that it will be launching its international expansion by going to Toronto, Canada by the end of this year.
The company is in the middle of closing a $1 billion investment from Alphabet. So far this year, it’s been a struggle for Uber but Lyft has taken advantage of this opportunity. The company has been expanding quite a bit. It’s launched in at least 100 additional cities in the U.S. in the past several months.
While Lyft isn’t on Uber’s level yet, it’s gaining a lot of momentum. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said that Uber will not be profitable in the U.S. over the next six months at the minimum because of what Lyft has been doing. “It depends on where the competition goes,” Khosrowshahi said. “Right now, we have a situation where Lyft is spending very aggressively to gain share.” Khosrowshahi is right to be concerned. Lyft has taken full advantage of Uber’s struggles and continues to ride the wave.
According to sources, Lyft doesn’t expect to be profitable either. This is because of the aggressive expansion plans. Lyft will continue to expand internationally into other English-speaking markets, starting with Toronto, Canada. Uber is already in Toronto and this already puts Lyft at a disadvantage.
