Uber teams up with Chinese EV-maker BYD
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Uber and BYD announced a multiyear strategic partnership. Graphic: Business Wire
Uber and Chinese EV-maker BYD are gearing up to build what appears to be the start of a global robotaxi service.
Why it matters: Their partnership, announced today, comes ahead of Tesla's robotaxi product launch — which was recently pushed back to October from August.
- The deal also marks an expansion of Uber's existing robotaxi trials in the U.S. with autonomous vehicle partners including Waymo robotaxis and Motional.
Driving the news: Uber plans to bring 100,000 new BYD vehicles onto its platform over the next several years, beginning with its drivers in Europe and Latin America, then the Middle East, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
- The two companies will offer drivers discounts on services like charging and vehicle maintenance, as well as financing plans to grow adoption, per a joint statement.
- They'll also work together on "future BYD autonomous-capable vehicles" that will be available through Uber's platform.
What they're saying: "As the largest on-demand mobility and delivery platform in the world, Uber is well-positioned to bring autonomous vehicle technology to a global audience at scale," the companies said.
- Translation: Tesla may have a ride-hailing mobile app also in the works, but Uber's got a huge lead on that already.
The intrigue: The tie-up between the U.S. ride-hailing giant and Chinese EV maker comes at a time when the U.S. and EU have started to implement new tariffs on Chinese EV imports.
- The U.S. Trade Representative's office said Tuesday that some of the U.S. tariff increases on a range of Chinese imports, including EVs and their batteries, will be delayed by at least two weeks, per Reuters.
- The EU began imposing higher tariffs earlier this month on certain imports that have been found to benefit from "unfair subsidies."
What we're watching: Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi praised Tesla CEO Elon Musk earlier this year and planted a seed for collaboration, saying Uber could, in general, boost "enormous demand" for autonomous cars.
- "I wouldn't underestimate what we bring to the table in terms of the Uber brand," Khosrowshahi told CNBC in May.
- "We're a verb, in terms of our matching, pricing, routing technology, our payments, fraud, identity, safety technologies as well."
Our thought bubble, via Axios' Joann Muller: While the prospect of robotaxis is tantalizing, this is also a deal about getting more EVs on the Uber platform.
- Uber has made a huge commitment to going electric, and it's been slow going. Earlier this year, for example, they were offering drivers incentives to buy a Tesla.
What we're watching: There were more than 7 million gig workers on Uber's global platform as of Q1, so 100,000 vehicles is a drop in the bucket.
- Tesla said in 2023 that about 400,000 car owners in the U.S. and Canada have downloaded the Full Self-Driving software, which would enable the company to turn its vehicles into robotaxis.
- But the technology has been controversial — linked to fatal accidents and found to be flawed by drivers, including one Wall Street analyst who most recently found "shortcomings" during a test.
