Uber customers across most of the globe will soon have the option to ride in BYD electric vehicles via the e-taxi app. The two firms have announced a deal which aims to bring 100,000 electric vehicles (EV) made by Chinese automaker onto the ride hailing app.
Europe and Latin America will be the first markets to get the BYD EVs. Thereafter, Middle East, Canada, Australia and New Zealand market will get the electric fleets. Unfortunately, the ride hailing company has not included Africa in its current plan.
In order to encourage drivers to make the switch to the electric vehicles, the partnership is expected to come with incentives. The two companies will offer discounts on maintenance, charging, financing and leasing.
“The companies aim to bring down the total cost of EV ownership for Uber drivers, accelerating the uptake of EVs on the Uber platform globally, and introducing millions of riders to greener rides,” the two firms said in a statement.
Exclusion of Africa is a bit of a surprise. This is because Uber has already introduced electric motorbikes in some of its African markets, hence, electric vehicles seemed like the next step. In Kenya, Uber and Greenwheels Africa partnered to introduce Electric Bodas (PSV Motorbikes). Greenwheels Africa manages and operates the Electric Boda fleet taking over responsibility for everything including the charging stations and riders.
This service was introduced in late August 2023 offering the option to use their electric bikes for rides across Nairobi. It also includes sending and receiving packages. The company stated it is planned to have 3000 electric bikes which makes it a fifth of its total fleet.
For BYD, the Uber partnership is another win for the company. In recent months, the Chinese company has opened a dealership in Rwanda. This was followed by set up of manufacturing plants in Turkey and in Thailand last month.
