With a bold strategic move similar to the one the Toyota Prius made in the taxi industry, the Chinese electric car giant BYD has partnered with Uber to introduce 100,000 new battery models on its platform VTC passenger transport.
The alliance will start in Europe and Latin Americawith plans to expand to the Middle East, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, excluding the US for the moment due to the high import tariffs imposed by the government of President Biden.
Uber and BYD: a global alliance for the electrification of non-private transport
According to statements from Uber and BYD, the main objective of the new multi-year collaboration between the two is accelerate the electrification of transport services of the VTC company, a challenge that Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi already acknowledged at the beginning of the year as “complicated”. But it is also a great boost for BYD, which has been one of the car manufacturers with the most notable growth in recent years.
BYD’s expansion into one of the market’s leading brands (above Tesla) has been largely driven by its unstoppable rise up the sales charts in the huge Chinese car market. Now, the brand is embarking on an expansion into countries where it is less established.
By their agreement, Uber and BYD will offer drivers lower prices for vehicles and financingdiscounts on battery recharges, maintenance, insurance and rentals. In this way, both hope to solve the shortage of affordable and functional electric vehicles for Uber drivers, overcoming one of the main obstacles to the electrification of VTC companies: their price.
Until now, there was a notable shortage of affordable, long-range and relatively spacious electric vehicles that could not compete on equal terms with the low-cost combustion or hybrid cars popular with taxi drivers and even rental car companies such as Toyota.
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A Uber still has a long way to go to fully transition its millions of drivers to electric vehicles. At the end of the first quarter, Uber said that just “8.2% of rideshare miles driven in the U.S. and Canada and 9% of rideshare miles driven in Europe were driven in zero-emission vehicles.”
To accelerate this transition, BYD has made a major push outside its home market, with a new plant in Thailand already up and running and plans to build factories in Brazil, Hungary and Turkey.
In February, the Chinese brand already agreed to supply cars to Vemo, a Mexico City-based startup that offers electric taxis through the Uber app. It was also one of the Main sponsors of the Euro 2024 and Copa América football tournamentswhich boosted brand awareness in Europe and America.
Tremble, Tesla: BYD and Uber on the road to autonomous driving
BYD and @Uber Unite to Make Green Transportation Accessible for Europe and Latin America.
“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. pic.twitter.com/7X4K3dbGW7
— BYD (@BYDCompany) July 31, 2024
In addition to the electrification of the transport services of the VTC company, BYD and Uber will collaborate in the development of future models with autonomous driving technology.
This initiative aims to position both companies at the forefront of mobility innovation, taking advantage of the growing demand for more efficient and sustainable transportation solutions. Uber has already begun implementing autonomous rides in some regions in collaboration with Waymo and is exploring autonomous delivery in the United States and Japan.
Last November, Uber also unveiled plans to partner with Tesla to help foster the shift to electric vehicles for drivers in North America. Now, the BYD-Uber partnership not only seeks to replicate the success of the Toyota Prius in the taxi space, but represents a significant step in the global transition to electric mobility.
This collaboration highlights the importance of expanding electrification beyond the private vehicle, encompassing sectors such as ride-sharing and potentially public transport in the future.
Mass adoption of electric vehicles on platforms like Uber can significantly accelerate the transition to a more sustainable and clean world, “benefiting drivers, users and cities around the world,” says BYD Executive Vice President and CEO of BYD Americas, Stella Li.
Source: www.motorpasion.com
