Uber will use 50 BYD, Nissan EVs in London

8 years, 3 months ago - 1 September 2016, Autoblog

London has long been in the forefront of cities trying to reduce inner-city pollution, introducing a congestion charge all the way back in 2003.

The experiment continues with a new announcement that Uber will use 50 all-electric vehicles in the city for its taxi-like passenger service. The EV fleet included 20 Nissan Leafs and 30 BYD e6s.

The idea here is to test out whether or not it makes sense for for-hire companies to use EVs. The 50 vehicles are part of a study run by the Energy Savings Trust (EST) and Uber. EST's mission is to find out how Uber drivers use the EVs and if there are enough charging stations in the city to make their work feasible.

This is the first time that all-electric vehicles are available from Uber in the UK (but it did use some in Chicago last year). In a statement, Nissan Europe's head of electric vehicles, Gareth Dunsmore, said that this test, "could prove to be a pivotal moment for tackling the challenges in London." It's only taken 13 years to get this far.