| Thanks for reading Hyperdrive, Bloomberg's newsletter on the future of the auto world. Please note: Our email domain is changing, so you'll now receive Hyperdrive from noreply@news.bloomberg.com. Scroll down for details on ensuring this newsletter keeps reaching your inbox. Uber will team up with BYD to put 100,000 electric vehicles onto the ride-hailing company's platform, in a major deal between American and Chinese businesses that notably excludes the US. Under the multiyear partnership, the two companies will offer drivers lower vehicle pricing and financing. The tie-up will start in Europe and Latin America, then expand to the Middle East, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, Uber and BYD said Wednesday. The alliance bolsters Uber's efforts to transition the fleet of vehicles on its ride service to EVs — an initiative Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi warned early this year was running off track. It's also a boon to BYD, which has been one of the world's fastest-growing automakers the last few years. That expansion has largely been driven by climbing the sales ranks within China's massive car market, and the company is now embarking on an expansion into countries where its brand is less established. "We look forward to seeing our cutting-edge EVs become a common sight on the streets of cities worldwide," said Stella Li, BYD's executive vice president and CEO of the Americas.  Stella Li at the BYD Shark plug-in hybrid electric pickup launch in May. Photographer: Mariceu Erthal/Bloomberg The pairing up cuts against increasing tensions between Washington and Beijing over the future of the automotive industry. China has built a formidable lead in batteries and the EV supply chain, and the US has been trying to push back against that dominance with a combination of punitive tariffs and tens of billions of dollars in tax credits for companies and consumers. Uber and BYD make no mention of the US in their statement, likely because the market is virtually closed off to the carmaker. President Joe Biden has vowed to increase tariffs on Chinese EVs to 102.5% this year, ratcheting up a rate that former president Donald Trump raised to 27.5% during his four years in the White House. The European Union and countries including Canada have since followed suit in adopting or considering higher duties on Chinese EV imports, which could further complicate Uber's objective for 100% of its rides in US, Canadian and European cities to take place in electric vehicles by 2030. One of the company's challenges has been the dearth of affordable, long-range and relatively spacious EVs to compete with low-cost cars powered by combustion engines that are popular among ride-hail drivers, such as the Toyota Prius. BYD has been making a concerted push to manufacture vehicles outside its home market, with a new plant in Thailand now online and plans for factories in Brazil, Hungary and Turkey. In February, the company agreed to supply cars to Vemo, a Mexico City-based startup offering electric taxis through Uber's app. It also was one of the lead sponsors of the Euro 2024 and Copa America football tournaments, boosting brand awareness across Europe and the Americas. Surveys have shown the price of EVs and availability of financing remain key barriers for drivers to switch from gasoline-powered cars, the companies said. BYD vehicles have lower costs of maintenance and repair, and are well-suited for ride-sharing due to the wide range of models, they said. The deal may also include discounts on charging, vehicle maintenance, insurance and lease and financing offers. Uber teamed up years ago with US rental-car company Hertz to offer perks to drivers renting Teslas, though Hertz has recently been selling off much of its EV fleet. The ride-hailing company also has partnered with charging network providers such as EVgo and Revel to offer discounts to its drivers. In London, Uber has committed to investing £5 million ($6.4 million) in public EV chargers.  Dedicated plugs for Uber drivers at a BP Pulse EV charging station in central London. Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg Uber still has a ways to go to fully transition its millions of drivers to EVs. As of the end of the first quarter, Uber said 8.2% of ride-share trip miles in the US and Canada and 9% of miles in Europe were completed in zero-emission vehicles. In their joint statement, Uber also touted the automated-driving capabilities of BYD's vehicles, and the two said they're well-placed to scale autonomous-vehicle capability in the future. Uber currently works with Alphabet's Waymo to provide driverless rides in Phoenix and is offering autonomous deliveries in some parts of the US and Tokyo. Shares of Uber and its smaller peer Lyft jumped after Bloomberg reported earlier this month that Tesla had postponed its unveiling of robotaxi prototypes. While CEO Elon Musk has for years harbored ambitions to take on Uber and Lyft with an app-based ride service based on a shared fleet of driverless Teslas, the EV maker has yet to put an autonomous vehicle on the road or launch a ride-hailing service. — By Natalie Lung and Gabrielle Coppola  The Citroën ë-C3 unveiling in Meudon, France, in October. Photographer: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg Stellantis is facing delays on a key new EV model for Europe because of software bugs, a dampener on efforts to rejuvenate a stale lineup and reverse a slump in profit. The €23,300 ($25,200) Citroën ë-C3, the group's flagship affordable electric car, is months behind schedule because of delays with final software checks for use in mass production, people familiar with the matter said. Deliveries were supposed to start during the second quarter. Read More on Stellantis: | 
No comments:
Post a Comment