Uber Partners With Lithium Urban to Deploy 1000 EVs in 5 Cities

Uber is partnering with Lithium Urban Technologies to deploy over 1,000 EVs in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune over the coming months.

During the lockdown in India, blue skies replaced smog above city skylines and pollution levels declined dramatically, serving as a stark reminder to what life could be like with less traffic and cleaner air. To convert such a vision into a healthier future for millions of Indians, Uber has announced that it is partnering with Lithium Urban Technologies, India’s largest electric vehicle (EV) fleet operator. The association will deploy over 1,000 electric vehicles (EVs), all sedans, across Uber Rentals and Premier in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune over the coming months.

The firm stated that “so far, we have already deployed more than 100 of these electric sedans, such as Mahindra eVerito and Tata Tigor EV, on our platform. Lithium’s charging hubs in these cities have the capacity to charge multiple cars and buses simultaneously. They also have fast and slow chargers installed at multiple sites across these cities. While a fast charger can charge a sedan in 90 minutes, a slow charger can do that in 8 to 9 hours.”

After its partnerships with Yulu, Mahindra and SUN Mobility, this is Uber’s fourth partnership in this space that underscores its long-term commitment to providing smarter mobility, building greener cities and creating healthier lives.

This is also in line with its recently announced global commitment to make all rides on its platform 100 percent emission-free by 2040 through zero-emission vehicles and the integration of public transport and micro-mobility. Over the next 12 months, the firm stated that it is committed to scaling up to 2,000 EVs on its platform, including the Lithium EVs.

Ashwin Mahesh, Co-founder and CEO, Lithium Urban said, “Our partnership with Uber has the potential to significantly add to the number of electric kilometers covered by cars in every city. The responsibility to accelerate the adoption of clean mobility belongs to all of us, and partnerships have an important role to play in making that happen. Electric vehicles are particularly well-suited to the shared economy, and that’s why we’re seeing their early adoption, most noticeably in fleets.”

Faced with the reality that 14 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in India, the Uber-Lithium partnership will continue to operationalise Uber’s vision of always being a responsible corporate citizen and building a more sustainable future, the firm said.