EV News: BYD Becomes Uber Fleet Partner, and Clean Energy Budget Triples

Chinese carmaker BYD strikes fleet deal with Uber

BYD has made further in-roads into the Western market despite a rise in tariffs on imports last week, after striking a big deal with Uber to bring an estimated 100,000 EVs to the platform. 

The partnership is initially expected to offer drivers in Europe and Latin America access to “best-in-class” pricing and financing for BYD vehicles on the Uber platform and will expand to include markets across the Middle East, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

By working together, the companies aim to bring down the total cost of EV ownership for Uber drivers, accelerating the uptake of EVs on the Uber platform globally.

In an eventful few months for the Chinese automaker, the deal comes just after it announced plans to move its manufacturing operations to Turkey in the wake of steep tariffs on imports from China.

The new plant will be able to produce up to 150,000 vehicles a year, according to Turkish state news agency Anadolu, and will potentially offer a way around the EUs latest levvies. BYD has also announced it would build a manufacturing plant in EU member state Hungary, which poses the question of whether the newly imposed tariffs will truly affect the EV makers’ profits.

Government triples budget to £1.5bn for clean energy projects

The Government has announced a budget of over £1.5 billion to deliver homegrown clean energy projects and boost the UK’s energy security.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has announced the budget for this year’s renewable energy auction is being increased by £500 million to over £1.5 billion – a national record – helping build new green infrastructure as part of the mission to deliver clean power by 2030.  

Funding will accelerate the delivery of clean, cheap, low-carbon electricity to families and businesses, generated by renewable energy technologies such as wind turbines and solar panels.  

While not touching on EVs specifically, this increase in budget further exemplifies the new government’s focus on delivering on its sustainability promises. It could also be influential in driving down rising public charging costs, as sourcing cheaper renewable energy for charge points has been identified as a potential method for reducing operating costs.

Milton Keynes completes Dragons’ Den electric charging trial

Milton Keynes City Council is the latest local authority to approve on-street charge gullies for EV charging, after extending an innovative electric car charging trial designed to make home charging available for motorists without driveways. 

In partnership with Kerbo Charge, the city council initially trialed the ‘through-pavement channels’ for six families who don’t have access to off-street parking.

The founders of Kerbo Charge have been making a splash in the industry, following their appearance on the BBC’s Dragons’ Den show in February, receiving investment from sustainability champion Deborah Meaden.

The trial is now being extended for up to 100 electric vehicle users in Milton Keynes.

The innovative solution to potentially hazardous ‘loose’ cables from house chargers requires council approval to be implemented, with the company pushing more and more local authorities towards adopting its solutions.

Dragon investor Deborah Meaden said:

“I backed Kerbo Charge because I saw a big problem around EV charging that needed to be solved, and I like the clever self-closing design of their product. This has been a comprehensive trial, running for over a year, and so I think this is a great opportunity for other local authorities to take the learnings from Milton Keynes City Council about how to roll these out.”

Estimates state that around 30% of the population currently doesn’t have access to off-street parking, and so solutions like this will be vital in implementing the EV revolution. 

EVA England calls on drivers to outline priorities

EV lobbying group EVA England is once again calling on all EV drivers to help identify the priority issues that matter most to them in the EV space with the launch of a new driver survey. 

The survey will cover everything from drivers’ charging experience to consumer confidence, and the key policies EV drivers would most like to see. 

The survey will run for two weeks only until 14 August and takes around 15 minutes to complete.

One of the largest platforms for the voice of EV drivers, these surveys by EVA England provide a sounding board for the industry, allowing stakeholders and the government to gauge the real issues facing EV drivers across the country for the year ahead.

Some of the key takeaways from last year’s survey include: 

• EV satisfaction rates continue to be very strong: more than 90% stated they would not go back to petrol or diesel and would recommend EVS.

• EVs are cost effective: 86% found owning an EV cheaper to run. 

• Growing trust in the public charging network: 1 in 10 drivers are now solely reliant on public charging. 

This year’s survey comes at a crucial time for the sector with stringent Net Zero goals formerly kick in at the end of this year, requiring EVs to constitute more than 1 in 5 new car sales.

That’s all for our EV news round-up this week! If you’re looking to stay up to date on all things electric, make sure to keep an eye on our social media channels where we regularly post explainers, updates, and industry insights to make EV easy and accessible for everyone.