Uber’s Big Electric Vehicle News

Earlier today the CEO of Uber announced the following:

It’s our responsibility as the world’s leading mobility platform to more aggressively tackle climate change. That's why @Uber is committing to move 100% of rides to EVs in US, Canadian, and EU cities by 2030, and to become a fully zero-emission platform by 2040 (1/6)

— dara khosrowshahi (@dkhos) September 8, 2020

Awesome announcement and i wanted to do a back of the envelopment analysis of Uber impact for their US footprint:

5 billion trips per year 6 miles per trip is ~ 30 billion miles per year. At 20 miles/ gallon gas that means just in the US alone that Uber is removing 1.5 billion gallons of fuel. REMOVED. At $3 a gallon, Uber is removing $4.5 billion in fuels revenue to the oil & gas industry.

~ 1 kWh takes an EV ~4 miles. In order to power all of the Uber trips with electric power, the US needs to add annual production of 7 billion kWh. A large wind turbine generates ~6 million kWh of energy per year, meaning that to power all of those Uber rides we need to add ~1,200 wind turbines. There are already over 50,000 wind turbines operating in the US and another 10,000+ in development.

At 10 cents per kWh, the cost to the Uber drivers for their energy source is now a total of $700M, a savings of over $3 billion to drivers.

These outcomes, where obvious unit economics drive change, are going to continue to make press releases.

There are many winners in this outcome. Here are a few:

+ Consumers for improved air quality and less local emissions

+ Utilities as mobility moves to being powered by electrons: rate base new renewable generation and local EV infrastructure

+ Energy management firms who upgrade local power distribution: Schneider, Honeywell, Rockwell, ABB. The grid needs to be able to manage increased power flow

+ EV charging networks are now increasingly important

+ Uber drivers who now spend less on fuel