Since last year, Uber has been offering drivers in a handful of locations — California, Colorado, Massachusetts and New York City — $4,000 to swap their gas guzzlers for electric vehicles. The company must have liked the results because today it announced that it would be expanding eligibility for its “Go Electric” grant to drivers nationwide for the first time.
The timing, of course, is everything. Gas prices have been rising at a steady clip since the US and Israel launched their attack on Iran last month. Uber drivers are particularly exposed to rising gas prices, as increased fuel costs directly reduce their take-home pay. But with no more federal incentives for EV purchases, many drivers are still reluctant to make the switch to electric.
Uber is trying to make it an easier decision with the expansion of its Go Electric grant. Drivers who want to trade in their gas vehicles for an eligible EV can register at the company’s website. Uber says it will start processing applications on April 16th.
Uber says it has 286,000 EV drivers on its platform globally, but that’s way short of the company’s goal, first announced in 2020, to be completely carbon neutral in North America and Europe by 2030 and in all global markets by 2040. Originally, Uber said it wouldn’t directly pay drivers to ditch their gas-burning vehicles in favor of EVs. But then the company reversed that decision in the hopes that direct payments could help accelerate EV adoption.
But the elimination of federal incentives, including the $7,500 tax credit for new EV purchases and $4,000 for used ones, has stymied Uber’s effort to become an EV-only platform. Now, the company is pushing back on a California measure mandating more EV ridehailing trips, and it has done away with $1-per-trip bonuses for EV drivers, as well as passenger fees that could be used by drivers for new EV purchases.
It has since settled on a one-time Go Electric grant to get drivers to make the switch. It’s also working directly with automakers to discount EV purchases for Uber drivers. Today, the company said that Kia would offer Uber drivers exclusive discounts on its electric models, including $1,000 off for the Kia Niro and EV6, and $1,500 off the EV9. Uber drivers who buy a new or used EV through TrueCar can get an additional $1,000 off.