Ford on Thursday introduced the beginning of a pilot program permitting Uber drivers in some markets to lease EVs by the week to be used on the ride-hailing community.
With a pilot program referred to as Ford Drive, the automaker says that it’ll supply Mustang Mach-E fashions in San Diego, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, with the Los Angeles program beginning Thursday.
Drivers can join versatile lease intervals of 1 to 4 months, and the automobile is delivered inside two weeks of signup. A Ford Drive app is used for automobile funds and repair, and automobiles come from a devoted Ford Drive fleet. Drivers might want to work out their very own insurance coverage, however common upkeep is included.
Ford Drive – Uber pilot program with Mustang Mach-E
What do Ford EVs value by the week?
Costs will differ by metropolis, Ford confirmed to Inexperienced Automotive Studies, however it did present an thought of the place they’ll be. These signing up now will see affords at $199 weekly for 500 included miles, or $249 with 1,000 included miles and 20 cents a mile for overage.
Uber’s Zero Emissions incentive is at the moment one of many firm’s methods of incentivizing drivers to shift to EVs; it at the moment provides an additional $1 for drivers for every EV Uber Rides journey, as much as $4,000 per calendar yr.
Uber says that in California, 10% of its on-trip miles are already accomplished in absolutely electrical autos, as of late 2022. It’s focusing on all-electric rides by 2030.
This system builds on one launched in 2022 between Ford Subsequent and Uber in San Diego, together with 150 Mustang Mach-E autos. Ford Subsequent is a unit targeted on future applied sciences, together with autonomous automobile tech.
Ford Drive – Uber pilot program with Mustang Mach-E
Uber-ready Mach-E is BlueCruise assisted-driving-capable
On that be aware, Ford Subsequent confirmed to Inexperienced Automotive Studies that every one Mustang Mach-E autos delivered by this system shall be BlueCruise-capable. Clients could select to activate the characteristic if desired.
Uber claims that switching high-mileage ride-hailing drivers to electrical leads to 4 instances the emissions-reduction profit versus that of the common automobile proprietor, so simply as with the potential of getting gasoline superusers into EVs, there’s extra of a real-world environmental return, sooner. It is going to additionally assist reduce the environmental impression of so-called “deadhead miles”—the space drivers have to cowl to get to the beginning of a visit and from the tip of it.
In response to a report earlier this yr Uber continues to work with unnamed automakers on EVs personalized for ride-hailing and supply companies, though an eye catching ride-hailing EV design from Arrival seems to have been scrapped.
