Global ride-sharing platform Uber on Wednesday announced a range of partnerships and teamed up with electric vehicle (EV) makers to accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility in the country. The company announced the launch of all-electric Uber Green in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, starting in June.
Uber Green allows passengers to request an all-electric, zero tailpipe emission vehicle rather than a regular fossil-fuelled car, bringing to India an on-demand EV experience with just a few taps on the app. Uber Green is the most widely available on-demand mobility solution in the world for no or low-emission rides, present in more than 100 cities in 15 countries around the world.
The ride-hailing major is expanding its network of fleet partners to unlock EV growth on its platform. Lithium Urban Technologies, which is the country's largest B2B fleet service provider, Everest Fleet Private Limited and Moove, Uber’s global fleet partner, will deploy 25,000 electric vehicles across Uber’s top seven cities helping drivers go "green" faster.
“India’s huge scale and electrification momentum makes the country a priority for Uber as we seek to meet our commitment to electrify every ride on our platform by 2040. Today, we are taking a major step toward that goal with the launch of Uber Green. We know that our impact goes beyond technology. We are determined to become allies of cities and governments as they seek to combat climate change and pollution through sustainable mobility," Andrew Macdonald, Senior Vice President, Mobility and Business Operations at Uber, said in a statement.
Uber is also joining hands with tech-enabled startup Zypp Electric to deploy 10,000 electric two-wheelers by 2024 to boost sustainable mobility in its Uber Moto category. Over 1000 Zypp Electric two-wheelers are already deployed on Uber Moto in the national capital.
The company is also forging two significant partnerships in the field of charging infrastructure. It is bringing its global mobility agreement with bp pulse to India in partnership with Jio-bp. This partnership will enable the drivers on Uber platform to get access to their charging networks and also enable new charging infra development. Uber has also signed an MoU with GMR Green Energy to create charging facilities.
“Going all-electric is a challenge that’s bigger than Uber. We can’t do it alone. To be successful, the economic burden of making the transition to EVs should not fall on drivers. With these industry-leading partnerships, we are matching commitment with action to help drivers go electric faster and supercharge sustainable transition in India’s ride-sharing industry," said Prabhjeet Singh, President, Uber India and South Asia.
The ride-hailing major has committed to becoming a zero-emissions mobility platform by 2030 in Europe and North America, and globally by 2040.