Uber is expanding its electric vehicle partnership with Hertz to Europe. The ridehail company says it will make 25,000 EVs – mostly Tesla and Polestar vehicles – through Hertz by 2025 for drivers in selected European capitals.
Uber drivers in London will be the first to get access to the new EVs through Hertz, with drivers in Paris and Amsterdam to follow shortly. The ridehail company has announced an ambitious plan to electrify its fleet in the US and Europe by 2030, with the Hertz partnership being a vital part of that effort.
“Expanding our partnership with Hertz to Europe will significantly accelerate our transition to zero-emissions driving, help drivers reduce operating costs and clean up urban transportation,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a statement.
The ridehail company has announced an ambitious plan to electrify its fleet in the US and Europe by 2030
The move comes as car companies and transportation companies around the world come under pressure from governments to phase out gas-powered vehicles in favor of zero-emission vehicles.
California, the largest car market in the US, has set rules for ridehailing companies like Uber and Lyft, requiring 90 percent of their fleets to be electric by 2030. Europe is also on an aggressive timeline, with the EU adopting a plan to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035.
Uber has long offered discounts on rental cars for drivers who do not own a vehicle, and has been working with Hertz on such a program since 2016. But the company has never teamed up to rent out one specific vehicle to drivers until recently.
Uber declined to provide details on weekly rental rates, but it will likely be similar to rates available to drivers in the US. Drivers here can rent a Tesla or Polestar vehicle for around $330 per week, including maintenance and insurance. They also get the added bonus of reduced fuel prices and reduced maintenance costs.
Drivers who use hybrid or electric vehicles to pick up passengers will also receive extra money per trip. In the US, that works out to an extra 50 cents per trip for a hybrid vehicle and an extra $1.50 per trip for battery electric vehicles. Drivers in the US must also maintain an average rating of 4.7 stars and have completed at least 150 trips to be eligible to rent an electric car through Hertz.
Uber says the EV partnership with Hertz is very popular with drivers in the US. The company said about 38,000 drivers using electric cars made 20 million trips in the US, Canada and Europe in the third quarter of 2022 – a fourfold increase from the same period a year earlier. And by 2022, EV drivers operating globally on the Uber platform will have avoided more than 12.5 million gallons of gasoline, the company said.
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