Uber and BYD have struck a deal to bring 100,000 BYD electric vehicles onto the Uber platform, starting with Europe and Latin America.

According to the announcement, the deal is expected to give drivers on the Uber platform access to cheaper EVs and bring down their total cost of ownership.

However, slightly worryingly for those same drivers are plans for the two companies to collaborate on autonomous-capable vehicles deployed on the Uber platform in the future.

The announcement also noted that Uber drivers were going electric at five times the rate of private car owners, but driver surveys had shown the price of EVs and the availability of financing as blockers. Charging is also a problem, particularly considering the state of infrastructure in countries such as the UK.

"To support drivers going electric, the companies' joint efforts may also include discounts on charging, vehicle maintenance, or insurance, as well as financing and lease offers, based on what works best for drivers in a given market."

The deal might also face scrutiny from the authorities. US tariffs on Chinese EVs stand at 100 percent, although BYD faces a lower hurdle in the EU, where tariffs are set to be 17.4 percent.

The Register contacted the European Commission for its thoughts on the deal and will update this piece should a response be forthcoming.

BYD was recently given the go-ahead by Chinese authorities to start trialing level three autonomous vehicles on public roads and has announced plans to build a $1 billion car factory in Turkey. According to reports, the plant will have an annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles.

Building EVs in Turkey, which is part of the EU's Customs Union, should allow BYD to dodge those tariffs.

The deal is a blow to BYD arch-rival Tesla, which recently delayed the unveiling of its robotaxi after boss Elon Musk decided to make some tweaks to the design. In a rare moment of introspection, Musk said of unsupervised Full Self-Driving: "My predictions on this have been overly optimistic in the past."

Tesla reported mostly flat revenues in its most recent filing, prompting some investors to worry that the company's core car business was coming under pressure. Musk, however, pointed to discounting from competitors, including BYD, as a factor making life difficult for the EV maker.

Stella Li, executive vice president of BYD and CEO of BYD Americas, said: "This collaboration marks a new era in the electrification of urban mobility, and we look forward to seeing our cutting-edge EVs become a common sight on the streets of cities worldwide." ®

https://www.theregister.com//2024/08/01/uber_byd_deal/