Recently, Uber has revealed its plan, under which it wants to have at least 100,000 EVs made by the Chinese firm BYD as part of its fleet.
The two firms have said that they will provide Uber drivers with rebates with regards to the maintenance, charging, financing, and leasing of the electric cars.
The Go will be first launched in Europe and Latin America, followed by the Middle East and North America, comprising Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
The news comes as the rate of EV sales all across the globe has declined and Chinese companies are setting more import taxes, especially in the United States and the European Union.
The companies’ goals are to reduce the TCO of EVs for the Uber driver-partners, drive EV adoption on the Uber platform faster, and introduce millions of riders to greener rides, the two firms stated.
They also claimed that they wish to incorporate BYD Auto’s autonomous vehicle technologies into Uber’s system.
In January 2019, Uber claimed it was planning to convince American drivers to switch to electric cars with the help of Tesla and is plotting a new purpose-built electric car with South Korean car giant Kia.
Recently, major markets such as the US and EU, among others, have imposed higher tariffs on Chinese-made EVs as part of market protectionism moves targeted at the car industry.
The action has led BYD and other Chinese new energy car manufacturers to develop new plants in other countries.
In July, BYD signed a 1 billion dollar contract to open a manufacturing firm in Turkey.
The new plant will have an annual production capacity of up to 150,000 vehicles, said Turkish state news agency Anadolu.
