Uber’s partner in its first African low-cost electric vehicle offering said the war between the US and Iran and resulting fuel price increases are igniting demand for its branded vehicles.
Valternative, the Durban, South Africa-based fleet manager working with the ride-hailing giant, is in the process of deploying 360 cars in Johannesburg in a pilot that’s set to expand by a multiple of that in the country’s biggest city before offering its services in other metropolitan areas.
Mahomed Jeewa, the startup’s co-founder, switched in 2022 from selling footwear to focus on electric delivery bikes, inspired by the boom in delivery services during the Covid pandemic and China’s rapid electrification.
“What Covid did for delivery in South Africa is what this conflict is doing for electrification,” Jeewa said in an interview at Bloomberg’s Johannesburg office.
“Once South Africans, whether it’s an Uber driver or a consumer, get a taste of electric, no one’s going back.”
While Uber has in the past marketed its EV options as a greener alternative for riders, the motivation for both clients and the company in South Africa is cost.
The pilot was started up in November after Bolt introduced low-cost rides using Bajaj Qute, a gasoline-fueled quadricycle, and Uber sought to counter that, said Jeewa, whose company uses the Henrey EV4, made by Beijing Henrey Automobile Technology.
“Uber pitched an idea with us that they’re looking for a vehicle to challenge the Bolt Bajaj,” he said.
“They looked at something to challenge them based on a cost perspective,” while meeting their standards for a more comfortable ride, he added.
Valternative is majority-owned by Jeewa and his co-founders, alongside the family offices of wealthy South Africans, he said, declining to identify them.
But in South Africa, where privately owned EVs are still a rarity, the challenges in doing that are a weak charging network and prohibitive acquisition costs for Uber drivers, with a 25% customs duty on imported EVs compared with 18% for gasoline and diesel-powered cars.
South Africa also has a large car industry, with the duty not applicable to locally made vehicles. The country produces no fully electric cars.
“The biggest challenges remain infrastructure and the high cost of electric vehicles,” Uber said in a response to queries.
With the Qute retailing at about R105,000 in South Africa, Valternative worked with Henrey to strip down costs, removing heaters and other add-ons, bringing the costs down.
“The biggest challenge is infrastructure,” Jeewa said, explaining why Uber decided to go for a fleet option and how his company has had to set up charging stations in three locations in northern Johannesburg, where the pilot operates. “We are pioneering this thing.”
Still, ride-hailing costs for Uber Electric are higher than Bolt’s Bajaj, with a 9.5km trip quoted at R49 compared with R82 for an Uber Electric and R88 for an Uber Go.
Still, the Henrey is permitted to take two passengers compared with just one for the Bolt rival. Charge fees of about R160 give the Henrey as much range as R400 of fuel in a similar-sized Suzuki S-Presso, Jeewa said.
But the cost-cutting and the limited infrastructure impact drivers. Customers and drivers complain about the lack of heating in a city where winter temperatures can fall below freezing, and drivers say charging takes up valuable working time.
“We spend a lot of time at the charging station waiting for other cars to charge,” said Thandiwe Mlinjana, a Johannesburg driver. “You end up wasting an hour waiting there instead of doing trips.”
The Uber Electric service is currently limited to the northern suburbs, with the service not accepting lucrative fares, including trips to the city’s main airport and neighbouring Pretoria.
Drivers pay a weekly rental of about R2,500, which includes maintenance and insurance. Mlinjana said her best week generated about R6,200 in revenue.
After paying rental fees and about R1,100 in charging costs, she said she took home about R2,600.
“If they gave us the option to buy the electric cars instead of renting them, it would be ten times better,” Mlinjana said.
The model contrasts with Dubai, where a mature EV ecosystem includes nearly 48,000 registered electric vehicles, more than 1,800 public charging points and a policy to make all taxis hybrid, electric or hydrogen-powered by 2027.
Uber has set 2040 as a target to transition fully to zero-emission vehicles. But in South Africa, while its electric cars eliminate tailpipe pollution, they draw their power from a grid primarily supplied by coal-fired power plants.
Over the next year, Valternative plans to add six to seven charging sites a month, introduce solar-backed charging hubs and retrofit its existing fleet with cabin heaters.
Jeewa said the company ultimately hopes to replicate the model across eight African countries, with further expansion starting with Egypt, Morocco, Ghana and Ivory Coast.
In South Africa, it plans to offer bigger cars to serve longer trips and higher-priced Uber categories.
“We are totally under-supplied,” he said. “We plan to expand out of South Africa as soon as Uber gives us some breathing space.
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