The race for who will take the lead in the next generation of automotive technology is on, and today Uber
is kicking off a program that it hopes will help put it in pole
position. Today, the transportation-on-demand behemoth is launching a
new electric car service in the UK, in partnership with Nissan and
China’s BYD, where it will offer leasing and purchase options for
fully-electric cars (BYD E6s and Nissan Leafs) to its drivers, as well
as include those vehicles in the mix of cars that it offers to
passengers for journeys.
Uber is starting first with 50 vehicles in London and — if all goes as planned — it will expand the service to another UK city in coming months, and projects to have “hundreds” of all-electric vehicles on the roads in the UK by next year.
Uber’s move to expand into electric cars is significant for a few reasons: for one, it builds on the company’s efforts to make sure that whatever direction cars may be moving in the years ahead, it will have a place at the table as one of the companies leading the charge.
Uber may not (yet) be fully using its own self-driving vehicles, but as a large company in the transportation industry, it will help it have the ability to influence how these cars are made by third parties, and also give it a good route into being a middle man in the purchase and least of these vehicles, helping develop that business into a useful revenue stream to diversify from basic ride services.
Uber is starting first with 50 vehicles in London and — if all goes as planned — it will expand the service to another UK city in coming months, and projects to have “hundreds” of all-electric vehicles on the roads in the UK by next year.
Uber’s move to expand into electric cars is significant for a few reasons: for one, it builds on the company’s efforts to make sure that whatever direction cars may be moving in the years ahead, it will have a place at the table as one of the companies leading the charge.
Uber may not (yet) be fully using its own self-driving vehicles, but as a large company in the transportation industry, it will help it have the ability to influence how these cars are made by third parties, and also give it a good route into being a middle man in the purchase and least of these vehicles, helping develop that business into a useful revenue stream to diversify from basic ride services.
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