Uber plans to exclude ICE cars from its taxi fleet from 2030, the ride-hailing company's CEO has confirmed.
“We have a target to be fully electric in the US, Canada and Europe,” said Dara Khosrowshahi in an interview with CBS News.
When asked if drivers of “gas-powered" cars – which includes hybrids such as the ubiquitous Toyota Prius – would be allowed, Khosrowshahi replied: “No, if we're doing our job, we're gonna be all-electric.”
In the US, Uber has already incentivised EV uptake among drivers. Operators qualifying for ‘comfort electric’ trips – driving cars such as the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Polestar 2 or Tesla Model 3 – get an extra $1 (£0.87) for each of these journeys, capped at $4000 (£3498) annually.
In October 2021, Uber partnered with car rental firm Hertz to allow drivers to borrow a Tesla from $334 per week, with prices poised to fall to below $300 per week as uptake increases.
Uber previously joined EV makers including Arrival, Lucid, Rivian and Tesla – among numerous others – in launching the Zero Emission Transportation Association, a group lobbying for 100% EV sales in the US by 2030.
This aligns with the UK's plan to end sales of new ICE cars in 2030, then sales of new hybrids five years later. The UK government is yet to clarify which kinds of hybrids will be permitted between 2030 and 2035.
In 2018, Uber confirmed plans for its London fleet to go EV-only by 2025; and in April 2022, it announced that it was on track to have 10,000 EVs operating in London by the end of the year.
The switch poses a significant challenge for Uber drivers. Employment website Indeed estimates that they make on average £21,408 per year.
Meanwhile, budget-oriented four-door EVs (permissible for use on Uber) such as the MG 4 EV, MG 5 SW EV and Nissan Leaf start at £25,995, £30,995 and £28,995 respectively.
Autocar reported in July 2021 that the average Uber was a second-hand vehicle aged between four and five years old, likely costing significantly less than even the MG 4.
Uber previously partnered with Arrival to produce a dedicated car for its operators, expected to be offered through a leasing scheme, but the latter halted the project in August to save cash as its share price dipped.
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