Why Uber teams up with electric vehicle makers
Uber, already working to convert the fleet of vehicles used by its drivers into electric cars by 2030, announces a series of ad hoc vehicles designed for its ride-hailing and delivery activities
Collaboration in sight between Uber and various car manufacturers for the creation of low-cost electric vehicles suitable for essentially getting around the main cities of the world. Speaking at an event organized by the Wall Street Journal , the CEO of the former San Francisco startup, Dara Khosrowshahi , said the company is working with various manufacturers to develop vehicles for the city, the transport of passengers and deliveries.
UBER'S PLANS
The intent of Uber and its partners is to design low-cost electric vehicles for ride-hailing and delivery activities, with a view to electrifying the fleet available to the US giant.
In particular, ride-sharing will need ad hoc vehicles, cars with a lower top speed than usual and with larger interior spaces, in which passengers can sit facing each other. “I think the top speeds, for example, that many cars have are unnecessary for city driving associated with ride-sharing,” Khosrowshahi said. "This can reduce the specification and if you reduce the specification it can reduce the final cost." Delivery vehicles, on the other hand, may have two or three wheels while still allowing for more space than necessary in the boot. “They will have to be able to cross traffic more easily,” explained the top manager.
THE PREVIOUS WITH ARRIVAL SA
Perhaps some will remember that Uber is not new to similar partnerships: already in 2021 it had announced that it had started a collaboration with Arrival Sa on customized electric taxis, a project however that never went through as the startup shelved its automotive projects in favor of vans.
Khosrowshahi did not announce which automakers are involved in the project, nor did he provide a timeline on when the streamlined EVs could be ready. At the moment, we only know that Uber is working to convert the fleet of vehicles used by its drivers to electric cars by 2030.
Furthermore, immediately after the summer of 2022, Free2move, the Stellantis car sharing company with short, medium and long-term car sharing and rental services and the US Uber had announced an agreement to accelerate the transition of the San Francisco of ride-hailing towards electric vehicles. The agreement, it had been revealed, will have a precise territorial scope: France. It is not known whether this partnership that dates back to a few months ago provides clues about the presence of Stellantis among the companies involved by Uber in its new project.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia-on-demand/perche-uber-si-allea-con-i-produttori-di-veicoli-elettrici/ on Tue, 24 Jan 2023 06:50:58 +0000.