Uber Partners With Arrival To Develop An EV For Ride-Hailing Industry
Called simply the Arrival Car, the EV is expected to go into production in the third quarter of 2023.
A new electric car will be developed by American technology company Uber and UK-based electric vehicle (EV) maker Arrival to cater for the ride-hailing industry.
Expected to be put into production in the third quarter (Q3) of 2023, the Uber electric car, officially named the “Arrival Car”, will be designed with inputs from Uber drivers.
Since it will be used as a cab, the Arrival Car will be developed to offer a premium experience to passengers and will also prioritise driver comfort, safety and convenience, says Arrival.
The Arrival Car is the realisation of the “Small Vehicle Platform” referenced in the company’s Investor Deck. It will join Arrival’s previously announced commercial products, the “Bus” and “Van”.
Although the final design of the Arrival Car is only likely to be revealed before the end of 2021, some interior renders of the vehicle have already been released and unsurprisingly, the cabin is very modest.
On the simple dashboard sits a large central touchscreen, next to which is the steering wheel. The air vents are likely to be housed within the horizontal trim on the dash, while there is a mobile phone holder on the right-hand corner possibly having the option to charge the handset.
In-between the front passengers sits a rather basic centre console with an armrest, while at the back there is a flat bench seat. Each door will come with storage pockets as well.
Although this is not the final design, it is easy to understand why Arrival has kept things rather unpretentious inside the EV and the reason is affordability.
Thus far, the actual distance the Uber electric car will be able to cover on a single charge has not been revealed. Likewise, Uber has not stated if it will instal its own charging stations either.
What is known for sure is that by the end of the year, Uber wants to double the number of its London drivers in EVs as part of the roadmap for all cars on the app in the city to be fully electric by 2025, with North America and the rest of Europe set to follow suit by 2030.
Both Uber and Arrival have collaborated to develop the vehicle for they believe switching to EVs will reduce emissions and improve air quality in cities. An official release states the Arrival Car “will address the global need to shift ride-hailing and car sharing services to electric.”
Two years ago, Uber launched its “Clean Air Plan” in London and raised more than £135 million (Rs. 1387 crores) to support drivers with the cost of switching to a fully electric vehicle.
At present, Uber’s focus is to encourage drivers to apply for “EV Assistance” under the Clean Air Plan, which it believes will “clean up” urban transport and drive a mass market for EVs.
In addition, Uber Green, recently launched in London, gives passengers the ability to select an EV at no extra cost, while drivers pay a lower service fee. So far more than 3.5 million trips have taken place in EVs, says Uber.
Since ride-hailing cars rack up 4 times the mileage of the average family vehicle each year, it would be rather interesting to see how durable and practical the Uber electric car proves to be.
