Following the news that South Korean automaker Kia has partnered with shared mobility giant Uber to supply electric vehicles (EVs) in Europe;
Bakar Sadik Agwan, Senior Automotive Consulting Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view:
“Kia aims 20% battery EV share in the total sales in advanced markets, including South Korea, Europe and North America. The South Korean automaker plans to expand its battery EV portfolio to 11 models by 2025 while Uber has set its target of 100,000 EVs to operate in Europe by 2025.
“With the partnership, Kia aims to supply its battery EVs to Uber drivers at discounted prices across 20 countries in Europe. Presently, Kia offers Niro EV as full-electric vehicle in Europe. Its new electric car EV6 will be also be available in Europe by next year.
“The development is followed by a similar partnership between Hyundai and Uber in April 2021, wherein Hyundai will supply its IONIQ Electric and Kona electric models to Uber in Europe. In May 2021, Uber partnered with UK-based EV start-up ‘Arrival’ for supply of EVs. The partnerships indicate Uber’s commitment to its electrification plans. The company aims to become a fully electric mobility platform in Europe and North America by 2030 and in London by 2025.
“Globally, automakers are often seen eyeing partnerships with shared mobility players to adopt EVs in their fleets. Larger shared mobility fleets can result in faster adoption of EVs than solely depending on them for personal mobility.
“Partnership with Uber and widening of EV line-up is set to give competitive benefit to Kia in Europe, which is a key playground for company’s EV business. As of 2020, 1 in 4 Kia sales in Europe were BEVs and hybrid. Kia has been strengthening its foothold in the European market and sales are on rise despite global turbulence in the auto industry. January-May 2021 market share for Kia in Europe increased to 7.5% from 7.2% in same period a year ago. The partnership is set to further strengthen Kia’s position in the European EV market.”
