Ford, in collaboration with Uber, launches Ford Drive, a pilot leasing program offering rideshare drivers access to electric vehicles in select California cities.
What’s Happening
Ford Next is teaming up with Uber to launch a new electric vehicle (EV) leasing program named Ford Drive. The program, designed to provide rideshare drivers with flexible access to Ford Mustang Mach-E models, has kickstarted in San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The inaugural vehicle deliveries in Los Angeles have just commenced today.
Why It Matters
Ford Drive aims to support the push for greener transportation by encouraging rideshare drivers to transition to electric vehicles. The collaboration between Ford and Uber is part of a broader strategy to combat climate change by reducing carbon emissions from the transport sector.
Key Points
Ford Drive offers rideshare drivers the flexibility of choosing their Mustang Mach-E for lease periods ranging from one to four months, based on their location. The vehicle is delivered to the driver within two weeks of selection, and payments and service management can be made through the Ford Drive app. This novel leasing approach has already made over 150 Mustang Mach-Es available to Uber drivers in San Diego since its initial launch in 2022.
California stands as Uber’s primary North American market for EV adoption, with nearly 10 percent of all on-trip miles completed in fully electric vehicles as of late 2022. Now, with the expansion of the Ford Drive pilot, drivers in three California cities can participate in the electric vehicle revolution.
Uber and Ford share a common vision for the future of mobility, with the latter’s Ford Next division committed to creating value by developing new business models and customer experiences. This initiative provides a model for future collaborations aimed at supporting the electrification of transportation.
Bottom Line
The joint effort by Ford and Uber represents a significant step towards achieving Uber’s target of becoming a zero-emissions platform in North America and Europe by 2030. Furthermore, Ford’s massive investment of over $50 billion in electric vehicles by 2026 aligns with their Ford+ plan to ramp up global EV production. This symbiotic collaboration could serve as a catalyst for the wider adoption of electric vehicles among rideshare drivers, thereby helping to mitigate the impact of transportation on climate change.
