Uber executives, led by CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, recently visited the headquarters of BYD Co. in China to discuss their burgeoning partnership. The meeting, which took place on Tuesday, was a significant step forward in the collaboration announced in late July between Uber and the Warren Buffett-backed BYD.
The partnership centers around the deployment of 100,000 BYD vehicles for Uber’s global fleets, rental partners, and individual drivers over the next five years. The initial rollout will focus on Europe and Latin America, offering drivers competitive pricing and financing options for BYD vehicles. The partnership will then expand to the Middle East, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Looking beyond conventional vehicles, Uber and BYD are also exploring integration of future BYD vehicles equipped with self-driving technologies into the Uber platform.
This collaboration highlights the commitment of both companies to promoting electric vehicle adoption in the ride-hailing industry. BYD, having overtaken Tesla as the world’s top BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) seller in the fourth quarter of 2023, is a key player in the global EV landscape. Uber, on the other hand, has set ambitious goals to transition its fleet away from gas vehicles, aiming to achieve a fully electric fleet in the U.S., Canada, and European cities by 2030, and globally by 2040. This partnership demonstrates Uber’s commitment to this goal and highlights its strategy to leverage partnerships with established EV manufacturers like BYD to achieve its targets.
The visit signifies a deepening of the partnership between the two companies and underscores their shared vision for a more sustainable future in the transportation sector.
