Smartcar partners with Uber to help relieve EV drivers’ range anxiety
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Smartcar, a developer platform for mobility businesses, has joined with Uber Technologies in a partnership to make it easier for electric vehicle drivers on the app to take on trips without range anxiety.
As a result of the collaboration, Uber will use Smartcar’s API to integrate EV battery level data into its driver app, enabling eligible EV drivers to make sure they’re only assigned rides within their remaining battery range.
The companies said that integration aims to create a comfortable and convenient experience for drivers and riders using EVs on the Uber app.
The feature will be initially available to drivers of select makes and models, with plans to expand in the future.
A survey of drivers using the Uber platform found charging anxiety was a barrier to drivers choosing to lease or purchase an EV, and range anxiety could prompt drivers to decline otherwise attractive trips or prompt them to charge more often than needed.
Those findings led Uber to develop the Battery-Aware Matching feature, powered in part by Smartcar’s connected car platform.
“We’re excited about the early feedback from drivers,” Uber head of sustainability product Michael Alexander said in a news release. “Drivers who’ve used Battery-Aware Matching during initial testing tell us they’re less likely to run out of battery and less likely to cancel rides because they’re too long.”
Uber said 40% of its U.S. users who ride in an EV say it’s their first time in one, which the company said strengthens the platform’s position as an influencer of transportation decarbonization.
Because a frustrating experience in an EV could deter those passengers from choosing that ride options in the future, the battery data feature is “an essential step in promoting both driver and rider satisfaction as Uber aims to transition all drivers to zero-emission vehicles,” Uber said.
With Smartcar, the app can automatically get visibility into an EV’s estimated remaining range and filter out trips that exceed that distance. In order to protect the privacy of drivers and vehicle data, Uber and Smartcar said, in order to access the new feature drivers must first enable the option to share their vehicle data with Uber within the Uber app.
Uber said the partnership is a step toward its goal to be a zero-emission platform in U.S. and Canadian cities by 2030 and to be completely carbon-free globally by 2040. Uber is devoting $800 million in resources to support drivers in making the switch to EVs.
“Electric vehicles are the future of ride-sharing and we are proud to partner with Uber to help make this transition a reality,” Smartcar CEO and co-founder Sahas Katta said. “This collaboration will play a key role in making it easier for Uber drivers to make the switch to an electric vehicle without having to worry about range anxiety.”