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, today we are announcing our partnership with Lithium Urban Technologies, India’s largest electric vehicle fleet operator. The association will deploy over 1,000 electric vehicles, all sedans, across Uber Rentals and Premier in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune over the coming months.

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. 

(Picture: Lithium charging hub in Pune)

After our partnerships with Yulu, Mahindra and SUN Mobility, this is our fourth partnership in this space that underscores our long term commitment to providing smarter mobility, building greener cities and creating healthier lives. This is also in line with our recently announced global commitment to make all rides on our platform 100% emission-free by 2040 through zero-emission vehicles, and the integration of public transport and micro-mobility. Over the next 12 months, we remain committed to scaling up to 2,000 electric vehicles on our platform, including the Lithium EVs.

Commenting on the partnership, Ashwin Mahesh, Co-founder and CEO, Lithium Urban Technologies 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.” 

According to the 2019 IQAir rankings, 14 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in India. Exposure to outdoor and indoor air pollution contributed to over 1.2 million deaths in India in 2017, according to the State of Global Air Report. 

Faced with such a reality, the Uber-Lithium partnership will continue to operationalize Uber’s vision of always being a responsible corporate citizen and building a more sustainable future.