On March 27, CaoCao Mobility released its full-year 2025 results, adding to the case that the company may be at an inflection point. It now operates in 195 cities across China and reported RMB 20.2 billion (USD 2.9 billion) in 2025 revenue, up 38% year-on-year. Gross margin rose 1.3 percentage points to 9.4%.

The fourth quarter was especially notable. Adjusted net profit turned positive for the first time on a quarterly basis. Cash flow also improved, with net cash generated from operating activities rising 60.3% year over year for the full year. Together, those figures suggest CaoCao Mobility is becoming less reliant on external capital and better able to fund its own growth.

Within China’s shared mobility market, CaoCao Mobility has long occupied a distinct position because of its ties to Geely and its push into robotaxis. That industrial linkage could eventually help it lower the cost of mobility services. The more immediate questions are what drove the latest improvement in earnings, and what robotaxis could mean for the company’s long-term value.

CaoCao Mobility’s move from sustained losses to a profitable quarter points to a shift in its earnings profile, with gross margin improvement at the center. Three factors appear to explain the increase:

  1. Scale benefits are becoming clearer. The company said average monthly active users reached 41.3 million in 2025, up 43.9% year-on-year, while average monthly active drivers rose 35.4% to about 631,000. Higher scale can improve unit economics, and stronger brand recognition may also support pricing.
  2. Operating efficiency improved. According to company disclosures, its in-house AI dispatch system continued to optimize order allocation. User subsidies are a meaningful part of CaoCao Mobility’s cost base, so lower subsidy intensity also appears to have supported gross margin.
  3. The company benefited from depreciation leverage. Under its self-owned fleet model, depreciation is relatively fixed, which makes profitability sensitive to utilization. As average daily order volume increased, vehicle utilization improved and per-order depreciation costs fell. Depreciation is not the largest part of the cost base, but it still appears to have supported margin expansion.

Broader gains in operating efficiency also created more room for profit. The sales expense ratio remained broadly flat even as the ride-hailing industry saw more orders routed through online aggregator platforms, which may indicate resilient brand demand.

Taken together, gains in volume, utilization, and cost control point to a more constructive margin trajectory. That does not guarantee sustained profitability, but it does suggest the business model is becoming more durable.

According to Frost & Sullivan, China’s shared mobility market grew about 24% in 2025. CaoCao Mobility outpaced that pace, reporting 38% growth in gross transaction value, with its specialized car model remaining a key driver. As of December 31, 2025, it owned more than 38,000 specialized cars across 31 cities. The company uses the term to describe vehicles designed specifically for ride-hailing.

The model draws on Geely’s manufacturing capabilities to provide drivers with vehicles built for mobility services. In theory, that can lower total cost of ownership, or TCO, while improving the passenger experience.

That operating model may also be feeding into brand perception. According to company materials, CaoCao Mobility ranked highest for service reputation among China’s major shared mobility platforms in nine user surveys conducted between the fourth quarter of 2023 and the fourth quarter of 2025.

That positioning matters in today’s aggregator-led market. User traffic is concentrated among a small number of platforms, while fulfillment quality remains uneven. In a market where transport supply often looks interchangeable, CaoCao Mobility is trying to differentiate through specialized vehicles and more standardized service. That may help it stand out within aggregator channels and support repeat usage.

Beyond user acquisition, the specialized car model has also become a tool for geographic expansion. The company is using a more asset-light approach in some markets. In 2025, by selling specialized cars to transport capacity partners, it expanded to 195 operating cities, creating another channel for growth.

If specialized vehicles and tighter operations underpin CaoCao Mobility’s current business, robotaxis could shape how investors value the company over the longer term.

The year 2026 may prove important for robotaxi commercialization. In the US, Tesla has rolled out robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, without onboard safety operators, and it is expected to begin mass production of the Cybercab in April. Waymo, meanwhile, completed a USD 16 billion financing round in February, giving it a post-money valuation of USD 126 billion. It has said it aims to increase weekly orders to 1 million by the end of 2026, up from 2025 levels.

China’s robotaxi market is also moving quickly, and CaoCao Mobility occupies a distinct position because it combines fleet operations, vehicle manufacturing support from Geely, and an existing ride-hailing network.

According to company disclosures, CaoCao Mobility plans to expand robotaxi deployments in China and overseas. In China, it aims to enter more cities and build larger-scale operations. Internationally, it has announced a partnership with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, established a dedicated unit for overseas robotaxi expansion, and said it is exploring robotaxi development in Hong Kong.

On the technology side, CaoCao Mobility is working with Geely to develop a third-generation, purpose-built Level 4 robotaxi that is scheduled to debut this year, according to the company.

For CaoCao Mobility, robotaxis matter because they could integrate with its existing ride-hailing network, fleet operations, and vehicle supply chain. That fit helps explain why Geely appears to view the company as a key platform for testing and commercializing future mobility services.

KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This article was written by 36Kr Caijing.