Uber launches first fully-electric ride
Uber’s journey to becoming a zero-emissions platform in Australia by 2040 is gaining momentum. On the back of two years’ sustained investment to increase the number of electric vehicles (EVs) on the platform, today Uber launched its first fully-electric product, Comfort Electric, available first to Uber for Business customers. Also today, Uber and EVDirect announced a landmark partnership that will make 10,000 BYD EVs immediately available to Uber drivers and Uber Eats delivery people with flexible and competitive financing options.
“In 2020, we announced our ambition to eliminate tailpipe emissions on the Uber platform by 2040, and in 2021, we took a conscious decision as a business to invest ahead of the curve here in Australia,” said Dom Taylor, General Manager of Uber Australia and New Zealand. “Today we’re thrilled to see our EV flywheel propelling us forward – with our first fully-electric product and a major partnership to make even more EVs available to Uber drivers and delivery people.”
In the third quarter of 2023 alone, more than 1.2 million Uber rides were taken in an EV (that’s an average of 13,000 zero-emissions trips per day). In the same period, there were more than 2,400 EVs operating on the Uber platform – a marked increase from fewer than 100 before Uber started investing in 2021.
Introducing Comfort Electric: Australia’s first fully-electric Uber product
From today, Uber for Business customers will be able to choose a more sustainable ride when it comes to ground travel across the country with the launch of Comfort Electric.
Comfort Electric offers Uber for Business travellers a ride in a fully-electric, premium vehicle with highly-rated drivers suitable for business travel. Comfort Electric is now available for Uber for Business customers across Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Adelaide.
With this new fully-electric offering, organisations using Uber for Business can better track emissions reductions across their company’s ground travel via the platform’s sustainability insights dashboard. The dashboard gives companies the ability to track carbon emissions data, view and report on how frequently employees use low-emission trips – providing data that can help corporates work to reduce ground transportation emissions. Uber for Business customers can also access metrics such as total carbon emissions and the percentage of corporate travel trips taken on eco-friendly alternatives, including Comfort Electric and Uber Green.
“Australian businesses are increasingly examining ways to incorporate more sustainable solutions across the corporate travel mix,” said Sarah Forsterling, Acting Head of Uber for Business, Australia and New Zealand. “Tens of thousands of clients globally have used Uber for Business’ Sustainability Dashboard since its launch in 2022, a platform we provide to customers that helps them easily report on the sustainability impact of corporate travel. We’re excited about how Comfort Electric will help Australian businesses reduce carbon emissions, as well as provide their employees the option to embrace a greener way to travel in style.”
Though Comfort Electric is initially available on Uber for Business, Uber is continuing to invest in EV growth on the platform to launch fully-electric products broadly to consumers as supply becomes available.
Doubling down on supply: 10,000 BYD electric vehicles immediately available to drivers and delivery people
A landmark vehicle partnership between Uber Australia and EVDirect will make 10,000 BYD electric vehicles immediately available to Uber drivers and delivery people via a range of flexible and competitive financing options.
EVDirect is the official distributor of BYD in Australia and will be supporting drivers and delivery people who wish to switch to a greener vehicle, with flexible access to competitive vehicle financing via EVFlex.
“Two-thirds of drivers have told us they want to make the switch to an EV, but the number one barrier to doing so is the upfront cost of the car,” said Taylor. “Through our new partnership with EVDirect, we are addressing that challenge head-on. Our goal is to provide drivers and delivery people a range of flexible options that make it easier than ever to get behind the wheel of an EV.”
“We’re excited to support drivers and delivery people with a cost-effective way to access EVs,” said Luke Todd, CEO, EVDirect. “We’ve created flexible financing options as well as easy charging options, and know drivers will reap the benefits of the cheaper operational costs of an EV. What excites me the most is the amount of money drivers and delivery people can save by switching to electric, given the number of kilometres that they drive each day. With the record high fuel prices at the moment, there’s never been a better time to announce such an important opportunity to enable drivers and delivery people on Uber to transition to electric so seamlessly.”
From today, drivers and delivery people on the Uber platform can access competitive and flexible EV financing options on the BYD Atto 3, with more models to become available as they arrive in Australia. Two financing options from EVDirect are immediately available, with a third expected to be available by the end of 2023*:
- Full Ownership: Path to ownership of the vehicle through a longer-term financing arrangement.
- Flexi Ownership: Path to ownership with the option to return the vehicle after a minimum term.
- More Flexible Offers [coming soon]: More flexible rental and ownership offerings will also become available in early 2024.
Behyad Jafari, CEO of the Electric Vehicle Council, said, “We welcome innovative business partnerships that put meaningful investment behind Australia’s transition to electric vehicles. The financing available via EVDirect should encourage people who drive for Uber or deliver for Uber Eats to shift to EVs, which we know would have an outsized impact on reducing carbon emissions.”
New EV incentives for Victorian drivers
Adoption of EVs on the Uber platform in Victoria has been slower than hoped, and to help make it easier for local drivers to make the switch, Uber is announcing an additional 500 places in its Service Fee Reduction program, exclusive to drivers in Victoria. From 1 November, drivers who complete trips on the Uber platform with an EV will have their service fees reduced by 50 percent, up to $3,500 per financial year, through June 2025. Details on the program will be communicated directly to Uber driver partners in the coming days.
*The offers and promotions listed on the Uber Vehicle Marketplace website pages are not provided by Uber; they are provided by companies that would like to let you know about their deals. The availability or validity of these offers are entirely outside of Uber’s control. Uber does not warrant, guarantee, or endorse any of these offers or third-party product information. Information on this website does not constitute any representation or financial, tax, or any other type of advice by or on behalf of Uber. Terms and conditions apply.
