Adani seeks tie-up with Uber to accelerate super app, electric cars

The February 24 meeting between Indian business tycoon Gautam Adani and Uber's CEO Dara Khosrowshahi hosted a part of discussions for a strategic partnership between the two majors for rolling out the Adani group's electric passenger vehicles on the ride hailing platform.

The collaboration aims to increase the conglomerate's super app Adani One's traction.

Adani One, launched in 2022, provides a range of services, including booking flights, vacation packages, airport services, and may further help with taxi bookings with Uber integration.


Taking to X, both business leaders appreciated their conversation on the Indian growth story and their vision for the subcontinent. Further, the Uber chief also highlighted the mobility service provider's commitment to accelerate EV transition in India.

Having a presence in electric commercial vehicles like buses, coaches and trucks already, Adani plans to foray into electric passenger vehicles. Furthermore, a tie-up with Uber would only help the conglomerate to fasten its play.

Despite not being a car manufacturer, it has significant internal needs for its ports and airport operations. In a nutshell, Adani will purchase vehicles, work on branding them, and include in Uber's fleet. Meanwhile, the ride hailing platform is on a ride to transform itself into a zero-emission mobility platform before 2040 and aims to replace its existing fleet with electric vehicles across the globe.

Also Read: ET Exclusive | Upstarts are everywhere, we have to be constantly on our toes in India: Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi

Notably, the port-to-energy player has put in bids for 3,600 electric buses that the government put out through tenders.

The move to partner with Uber also helps the Adani group in its plans to invest $100 billion in an array of industries, including the energy transition, ver the next ten years. It is constructing a massive farm to produce electricity from sunlight and also a 10 GW of solar manufacturing capacity. In addition, it is working on EV charging stations and battery replacement.

Since manufacturers have been actively looking for commercial applications in order to become financially viable, the Adani-Uber partnership has the potential to accelerate the adoption of electric four-wheelers in India. It also has the potential to grow into one of the largest global fleet partnerships for electric vehicles for the US ride-hailing platform.

Large-scale electric vehicle adoption may also significantly boost India's gig economy.

Since its 2013 launch in India, Uber has completed over 3 billion trips and is currently accessible in 125 cities. As per the company's statement, it has assisted more than 8 lakh Indians in generating income by putting them in control.

Meanwhile, Uber CEO reiterated the company's focus on ridership business, in an exclusive interview with ET. “While Ola focuses on other areas, we love the ride-sharing business,” he said while taking a hit at his rival in India, Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola — whose sister company Ola Electric is going for an IPO alongside a foray by Aggarwal into AI.

(With inputs from TOI)