Volkswagen partners with Uber to launch EV pilot

By Sean Galea-Pace
Share
Volkswagen has teamed with Uber to launch a pilot project for the introduction of electric vehicles under the sustainable ride hailing service Uber Gree...

Through Volkswagen’s e-Golf, Uber now has a locally zero-emission alternative from the Volkswagen model portfolio available in Berlin. The main aim of the pilot project is to use a range of year-old e-Golf vehicles which could run into three digits. Volkwagen has already been leveraging the e-Golf successfully for its own car sharing service We Share since 2018.

Holger B. Santel, Head of Sales and Marketing Germany for the Volkswagen Passenger Car brand, commented: “Through our cooperation with Uber, we’re helping improve air quality in urban areas through locally carbon-neutral electric vehicles. In addition, with the demanding continuous operation of battery-electric vehicles in a ride hailing service, we will gain valuable experience which we will be able to use for future vehicles.”

Christoph Weigler, General Manager Uber DACH, added: “We are pleased to have gained Volkswagen, one of the world’s leading drivers for e-mobility, as a partner for our intermediation platform. Electric vehicles from Volkswagen are a perfect match for our sustainable “Uber Green” concept. This cooperation offers our hire car partners an economically attractive possibility of switching to zero-emission drive systems at short notice. In addition, our experience shows that people are considerably more open to the topic of e-mobility after their first ride in an all-electric vehicle.”

As a part of its e-offensive, the Volkswagen brand aims to offer electric cars in all of its major vehicle segments by 2022. Volkswagen hopes to become the world market leader in e-mobility during the coming years and is set to invest US$38.4bn group-wide by 2024, of which 11 billion will be invested in the Volkswagen brand alone. By 2025, Volkswagen itself aims to produce 1.5 million e-cars.

The news follows Uber’s announcement in September that it plans to evolve into a zero-emission mobility platform by 2040, with 100% of the rides offered using zero-emission vehicles, public transport or micro-mobility offerings.

Share

Featured Articles

Sandvik Coromant: How to Survive AI and Thrive

Identifying the trends and impacts of AI on manufacturing, Sandvik's whitepaper argues that AI is here to stay and shares how manufacturers can adapt

Shiseido & Accenture: AI-the Best Skincare Solution?

As the beauty industry grows ultra competitive, Shiseido has partnered with Accenture to set themselves apart from the competition through Industry 4.0

Assembling the Future: Huawei's New Smart Factory Offerings

Huawei's raft of solutions, augmented by its capabilities in AI, cloud and 5G place the tech titan in a place to revolutionise manufacturing

Tata & Analog Devices Drive Indian Electronics Manufacturing

Technology

UK Manufacturing Day: The Experts Weigh In

Production & Operations

Verizon: Available vs Confidential Data & IIOT Cybersecurity

Smart Manufacturing