EVWire brief: Uber has taken a very specific “you bring the AVs, we bring the demand” approach for the inevitable future of autonomous rideshare. Within a month or so, Uber has announced a wide range of autonomous vehicle partnerships recently, so here is a quick recap:
May Mobility planning autonomous vehicles on the Uber platform by the end of 2025, starting in Arlington, Texas where the company has been operating. (link) These will be driverless Toyota Sienna minivans - the agreement speaks of ‘thousands’ planned. May Mobility has completed 100,000 autonomous rides since its Rapid AV pilot program debuted in March 2021.
Momenta, Uber partners with the Chinese AV startup to launch Momenta robotaxis on the Uber app in Europe in 2026. (link)
WeRide, Uber increased its investment in the Chinese autonomous vehicle company WeRide by $100 million, as part of an expanded partnership deal to bring the service to another 15 cities (some will be in Europe) over the next five years. (link) The two currently operate services in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Volkswagen, Uber and VW plan to set up a fleet of thousands of autonomous vehicles in the US over the next decade, basing it on the ID. Buzz AD (AD stands for Autonomous Driving version of it) for a rollout in LA later this year. The ID. Buzz AD is already being tested in Hamburg, Munich, Oslo and Austin, Texas. (link)
We can add a few previous partnerships here, but the most notable one is certainly Waymo, where the coopetition between the two recently even means Waymo launching in a new city while sending its users to download the Uber app to hail a Waymo ( 🤯 ).
Now, we’re not sure how many serious AV players are left for Uber to take under its wing for now — Zoox and Tesla seem both rather out of the question. Let us know in the comments, whether you think Uber’s “I bring the demand, you bring AVs” approach will pan out or should it start building an autonomous vehicle ASAP.
