Electric vehicles are now a common sight on roads around the world. Despite this fact, it’s extremely rare to see e-hailing services use them in our region. Well, that’s about to change as BYD has announced a multi-year partnership with Uber that will see about 100,000 of the former’s vehicles join Uber’s platform across global markets.
This will first happen in Europe and Latin America, where the deal will allow drivers access to attractive pricing and financing plans on BYD vehicles meant for the Uber platform. Later, the service will expand to other markets including the Middle East, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Both companies believe that by working together, they will be able to bring down the cost of EV ownership for Uber drivers. And this will accelerate EV adoption for Uber on a global scale, allowing for more environmentally friendly trips for passengers.
“Uber and BYD share a commitment to innovate towards a cleaner, greener world, and I am excited to work together towards that future,” said Chuanfu Wang, Chairman and President of BYD.
“When an Uber driver makes the switch to an EV, they can deliver up to four times the emissions benefits compared to a regular motorist, simply because they are on the road more,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber.
Uber claims that its drivers are switching to EVs 5 times faster than private car owners, but driver surveys show otherwise. They state that EV prices and availability of financing plans are barriers that are preventing them from taking the plunge.
Since electric vehicles are cheaper to maintain and offer characteristics that are suited to ride sharing, its why Uber drivers are taking to them quicker than private car owners do. And to bolster support for EV adoption, both companies may offer discounts on charging, vehicle maintenance, insurance, financing plans and leasing offers to cater to a variety of Uber drivers’ needs.
In addition to this, both companies plan to take their collaborative efforts into the future by eventually introducing BYD autonomous-capable vehicles to the platform. Since Uber is positioned as a major e-hailing service provider as well as a delivery platform, it believes it’s best suited to bring such vehicle technology to a global audience when that time comes.
This should dramatically increase the number of EVs on public roads soon. That would also have knock on effect in other areas that will help improve the charging infrastructure, support services as well as introduce a variety of options for repairability.
Uber exited the Malaysian market a few years ago, but if the partnership proves to be a success, there’s no reason BYD wouldn’t try to replicate such a service here.
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