Uber Follows Ola & BluSmart, To Introduce 25K Tata Motors’ EVs In Premium Category

Following its rival Ola, ride-hailing platform Uber on Monday (February 20) said it would introduce 25,000 electric vehicles (EVs) in the premium category service on its platform in partnership with Tata Motors.

The company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tata Motors to introduce around 25,000 XPRES–T EVs. Tata Motors will begin the deliveries of the EVs to Uber’s fleet partners in a phased manner from this month, a statement said.

Uber will deploy the EVs across Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad.

“This represents the largest EV partnership yet between an automaker and a ridesharing platform in India. It will supercharge the transition to zero emissions on the Uber platform as we work towards building a sustainable future,” Prabhjeet Singh, president of Uber India and South Asia, said.

It must be noted that Uber began a pilot of electric cabs in some parts of Delhi NCR in October last year under which users could book EV cabs for pre-scheduled trips.

“Offering customers our environmentally friendly EV ride experiences via Uber’s Premium Category service, will accelerate the adoption of green and clean personal ride sharing,” Shailesh Chandra, MD of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, said.

Last month, Ola also announced its entry into the premium EV category and said it would soon deploy a fleet of 10,000 EVs.

Meanwhile, EV ride-hailing app BluSmart’s fleet primarily has EVs from Tata Motors, besides MG Motors, China’s BYD and SAIC Motor. However, the company is looking at diversifying its fleet. In an interview with FE, BluSmart co-founder Punit Goyal said that the company is open to procure from any/all original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) who provide vehicles at “good prices”.

With climate change emerging as a major concern over the last few years, governments of almost all countries across the globe have been encouraging the growth of the EV industry. Besides, ride-hailing apps, food aggregators like Zomato, and ecommerce platforms like Flipkart and Amazon have also been electrifying their fleet.

Uber has committed to 100% of rides on its platform taking place in zero-emission vehicles by 2040.

Note: We at Inc42 take our ethics very seriously. More information about it can be found here.