Uber Partners Up with Nissan for the Clean Air Plan

Uber’s goal of becoming fully electric by 2025 seems to be well underway, and Nissan is making sure they get there. The two companies have recently signed a deal to support the introduction of 2,000 fully electric Nissan LEAFs for Uber drivers. Nissan will provide a fleet of Nissan LEAFs equipped with a 40 kWh battery pack. This enables the car to travel up to 270 km (168 miles) on a single charge. The cars will be manufactured in Sunderland, England, and will be offered to drivers as a part of Uber’s Clean Air Plan. Aside from this, Nissan will also provide Uber with a personalized EV education program, transaction price, and marketing plan. This will help Uber drive the uptake of the zero emission vehicles. “Our bold vision for London is for every driver on the Uber app to use an all-electric vehicle by 2025. The partnership with Nissan is a hugely significant step towards meeting this goal,” comments Jamie Heywood, Uber’s Regional General Manager for Northern and Eastern Europe. “The Mayor of London has shown strong leadership on measures relating to air quality and we’re proud to support him in delivering his vision.” In addition, Andrew Humberstone, Nissan Motor (GB) Ltd.’s managing director, commented: “Through innovation and collaboration, companies like Nissan and Uber can tackle the challenges of advancing personal urban mobility, whilst also improving air quality in our major cities. As the UK’s best-selling EV, the Nissan LEAF is the perfect vehicle to support Uber’s ambition of a 100% electric fleet in London for 2025. Not only will passengers enjoy the quieter ride that comes from all-electric driving, but cyclists, pedestrians and other road users will also benefit from the zero-emissions powertrain.” The Clean Air Plan was launched by Uber in January of 2019, as a means of addressing air pollution. The program helps drivers upgrade to an electric vehicle by adding a small Clean Air Fee of 15p (Php 10) every mile (1.6 km). This added fee helps drivers with the cost of adopting an EV. On average, every EV Uber driver will save about £4,500 (Php 300,000) all in all, depending on how many miles they’ve driven. In the first year of Uber’s Clean Air Plan, about 900,000 Uber journeys have taken place in electric vehicles, an increase of more than 350 per cent on the previous year. Over 500 drivers every week are now using zero emission electric vehicles.   Here in the Philippines, more and more people are warming up to the concept of EVs, but still opt for traditional fuel-powered cars because they cost less. The Clean Air Plan is a great solution to air pollution, and we hope that the local government can integrate it somehow to our public transportation.  

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