Lyft discloses market share numbers

Uber-rival Lyft has finally revealed its market share numbers. The company said, over the past 18 months, its contribution to the ride-sharing market in the US has increased almost three quarters to 35%. Lyft has over 40% share in 16 markets and a majority share in multiple undisclosed markets, the company added.

Lyft said more awareness of its brand and higher activations from passengers were the reasons for its growth, adding that it did not see any slowdown to this momentum. While its rival Uber spent last year getting mired in controversies, Lyft seems to have benefited.

Lyft has spent significantly on discounts and subsidies to gain market share. The company has also been trying to reduce spending and it has managed to bring down its sales and marketing expenditure by 20% in the first quarter of this year. Uber and Lyft have both been taking similar steps in their efforts to gain market share, reduce expenses and reach profitability as they aim for IPOs.

Lyft managed to bring down its sales and marketing expenditure by 20% in the first quarter of 2018 

Meanwhile, some data also show that Lyft has not gained any market share over the past six months. Lyft is said to calculate market share based on email receipt data, while third-party research firms use credit card, debit card and business expense data to calculate market share numbers for ride-sharing companies.

Uber also does not release its market share numbers but sources estimate it to be around 70% of the national ride-sharing market.

Meanwhile Uber continues to face numerous hurdles in Europe, to tackle which, the company has appointed former Amazon (AMZN) executive Jamie Heywood as the new regional general manager for Northern and Eastern Europe.