Uber Technologies [UBER:US] has announced its intention to introduce electric vehicles (EVs) for ride-sharing in India, marking the company’s first foray into clean cars in the country, as reported by Reuters on February 20. The move comes amid a push by the Indian government for greater electrification of public transport and shared mobility. Uber plans to introduce 25,000 EVs over three years, increasing competition with local rival BluSmart, an electric mobility start-up backed by BP’s [BP:US] venture fund. Tata Motors [TTMT:IN], India’s largest electric carmaker, will supply the EVs to Uber’s fleet partners. Uber is in talks with other carmakers, charging companies, fleet operators, and financiers for its EV push.

Last year, Uber began offering electric vehicles to customers in certain parts of the Delhi-NCR region. The electric cabs were only available for pre-scheduled trips at that time. The move followed the Indian government’s order in 2019 for ride-hailing companies, including Uber, to convert 5% of their fleets to EVs by 2022 and 40% by 2026. In response, India has introduced incentives for EV adoption, and the state government in Delhi had installed 1,000 charging points and aimed to have 18,000 charging points within three years.

Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/uber-introduce-25000-evs-india-amid-clean-car-push-2023-02-20/

https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/20/uber-electric-cabs-india/