Uber Technologies said on Wednesday it would invest more than $100m (about R1.6bn) to develop autonomous vehicle charging hubs, underscoring the ride-hailing company’s latest push to scale up self-driving operations.
The move includes building DC fast-charging stations at its autonomous depots where Uber runs day-to-day fleet operations and at pit stops throughout priority cities.
Uber has made autonomous vehicles a key strategic priority, partnering with more than 20 firms across the world on self-driving freight, delivery and taxi services, as it races to secure market share and fight competition from companies such as Tesla.
The charging expansion will begin in the US in the Bay Area, Los Angeles and Dallas before moving to more cities over time.
The company is also partnering with chargepoint operators in global markets to set up “utilisation guarantee agreements”, including with EVgo in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston; Electra in Paris and Madrid; and Hubber and Ionity in London.
These agreements are expected to support the rollout of hundreds of new chargers across these cities and in places where charging is needed the most.
Earlier this month, Uber backed its capital-intensive, early-stage autonomous vehicle strategy and said it was committing capital to vehicle partners to secure early supply and speed up deployments, as its platform has a structural advantage.
Uber now offers robotaxis on its ride-hailing platform in four US cities, as well as in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh. It has partnered with robotaxi firms, including Alphabet’s Waymo and China’s WeRide, for autonomous vehicle fleet operations.
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