The future of transport is electric, and Uber has committed to becoming a fully electric ride-hailing service by 2030. To aid in that goal, the company is developing its own electric car in collaboration with British manufacturer Arrival.
Uber’s plan to go fully electric will happen first in London by 2025, but the company needs electric vehicles in order to deliver on that promise. The collaboration with Arrival will produce the “Arrival Car,” which is “designed to be an affordable, purpose-built electric vehicle for ride-hailing, and will be designed in partnership with Uber drivers.”
Uber and Arrival are inviting Uber drivers to help in the design process to ensure it delivers everything they need for ride-hailing duties. The final vehicle aims to deliver a premium experience for passengers while keeping a driver safe and comfortable, but at the same time it needs to cope with being driven over 30,000 miles every year.
Jamie Heywood, Uber’s Regional General Manager for Northern and Eastern Europe said: “As our cities open up we have an opportunity to make sure that urban transport is cleaner than ever before. Uber is committed to helping every driver in London upgrade to an EV by 2025, and thanks to our Clean Air Plan more than £135m has been raised to support this ambition. Our focus is now on encouraging drivers to use this money to help them upgrade to an electric vehicle, and our partnership with Arrival will help us achieve this goal.”
The Arrival Car is expected to go into production in the third quarter of 2023 and will use Arrival’s Small Vehicle Platform. After a roll out in the UK, the focus will turn to Europe and the US as the 2030 deadline approaches. Arrival is already working on zero-emission Bus and Van projects, with UPS ordering 10,000 electric delivery vans from the company last year to be delivered by 2024.