PARIS — French ride-hailing app Kapten, formerly called "Chauffeur Prive", has won approval from Transport for London to launch its services in the British capital and take on the likes of Uber as well as the city's historic black cabs.

Kapten, whose majority shareholder is German car company Daimler, said on Thursday that it hoped to have 1.5 million users in London in two years' time.

"There has been one dominant, overconfident ride-hailing player in the field and it's time to shake things up. We believe London's private-hire drivers, commuters and residents deserve better," Kapten General Manager Mariusz Zabrocki said. — Reuters