By Akash Sriram
(Reuters) – Uber Technologies and Chinese automaker BYD announced a multi-year partnership on Wednesday aimed at bringing 100,000 new electric vehicles to the ride-hailing platform globally.
The partnership, starting in Europe and Latin America, will offer drivers accessible pricing and financing for BYD’s EVs on the Uber platform and will expand to markets in the Middle East, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the companies said.
High sticker prices for electric vehicles and increased borrowing costs have acted as barriers to EV adoption over the past two years, causing demand for such vehicles to grow at a slower-than-expected pace.
Escalating climate change concerns and the pressing need to cut greenhouse gas emissions has given a boost to the global push for electrification in the transportation sector.
Uber and BYD will offer drivers discounts on vehicle maintenance, charging, financing, and leasing depending on the market to support the transition to electric vehicles.
“When an Uber driver makes the switch to an EV, they can deliver up to four times the emissions benefits compared to a regular motorist, simply because they are on the road more,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a statement.
The companies added that they will work together to integrate BYD’s vehicles with self-driving technologies onto the ride-hailing platform.
BYD’s U.S rival Tesla is set to unveil its robotaxi product in October as it to looks to pivot after EV sales fell in the first two quarters of the year.
BYD surpassed Tesla last year as the world’s largest electric vehicle maker, though the Elon Musk-led EV maker has since regained the top spot.
Uber said in January it was working with Tesla to promote the use of EVs by its drivers in the U.S. as it aims to become emission-free in U.S. and Canadian cities by 2030.
(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
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