Rideshare giant Uber has announced that it will provide drivers with up to $6,350 in discounts to obtain battery electric vehicles (BEVs) as it races to meet its previously set zero-emission targets. In 2017, the leading technology company pledged that all its London drivers would be using electric vehicles by next year.
However, with electric-vehicle adoption slowing down significantly in recent months because of high prices, Uber has been forced to provide its London drivers with thousands of dollars in discounts to encourage them to transition to EVs and ditch their fossil-fuel cars. Drivers will receive discounts for both new and used electric cars, and Uber has already negotiated up to $21,610 in discounts on new EVs.
To help fulfill its 2017 pledge, Uber has been charging a “clean-air fee” that has allowed the company to save up to $184 million; consequently, the company has used those funds to subsidize EV purchases for its London drivers. Uber’s efforts have become more frenzied now that its 2025 deadline is only one and a half years away, but just a quarter of all the miles its London drivers travel are via electric vehicles. Uber made this pledge when interest in electric vehicles was at an all-time high and buyers across the globe weren’t besieged with high interest rates.
However, with customers increasingly losing interest in electric cars amid high interest rates and rising living costs, Uber is likely feeling lots of pressure to fulfill the 2025 target. As such, the rideshare company decided to encourage its London drivers to buy electric vehicles using financial incentives.
According to the company, drivers can use the discounts and grants to save up to $27,965 on a new electric-vehicle purchase. For example, the Kia EV6 would cost London Uber drivers $43,614 rather than $71,786 while the Kia Niro EV 2 would cost $25,670, down from $47,696. With these discounts, eligible Uber drivers who are willing to make the transition to EVs but couldn’t due to cost will now be able to buy a new electric car without breaking the bank.
Uber will also provide drivers who transition to battery-electric cars access to three months of free charging as well as finance the installation of public EV chargers in Redbridge, a borough in northeast London. Uber UK general manager Andrew Brem notes it’s time to “speed up on electrification” and said that achieving zero-emission goals would require consistent investment and action by lawmakers.
If different fleet operators in major auto markets also instituted such measures to boost EV uptake, the broader electric-vehicle industry, including manufacturers such as Kandi Technologies Group Inc. (NASDAQ: KNDI), would have a growing market to serve and the current slump in sales wouldn’t be as pronounced.
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