Apple has invested $1bn in Didi Chuxing, the car-hailing app that has a greater market share than U.S. rival Uber in China, BBC News reports.

Tim Cook, chief executive, said that the move would help Apple to better understand the Chinese market.

Didi Chuxing, previously known as Didi Kuaidi, said it represented the single largest investment in its history.

The firm said it provided more than 11 million rides a day and claimed to have 87% of the Chinese market share.

The company is also backed by Chinese internet giants Tencent and Alibaba.

U.S. rival Uber has been struggling to break into the Chinese market despite having won Chinese search engine Baidu as an investor.

In February Uber admitted it was losing more than $1bn a year in China, spending huge sums to subsidise discounted rides.