- Uber is partnering with EVGo, Ionity and several other networks to build out charging stations.
- The stations are intended to support its growing autonomous vehicle partnerships.
- They will be installed in high-traffic regions and within the company’s robotaxi depots.
Uber will invest $100 million to build out public fast-charging stations across the U.S. and Europe, the company said Wednesday. The move aims to provide a backbone for its rapidly expanding autonomous vehicle (AV) ambitions, which now span the globe and include more than 20 partnerships.
Now the company is turning to an absolutely essential piece of the puzzle: charging. Uber is partnering with private charging networks to build the stations, offering them minimum utilization guarantees. Fast-charging infrastructure requires millions of dollars in upfront capital and that only pencils out with consistently high usage rates.
“Cities can only unlock the full promise of autonomy and electrification if the right charging infrastructure is built for scale,” Uber Global Head of Mobility Pradeep Parameswaran said in a statement.
Uber Nuro Lucid Gravity Robotaxi partnership
Photo by: Lucid Motors
The company plans to roll out roughly 1,000 DC fast-charging stations through a patchwork of regional partnerships. In the U.S., Uber has teamed up with EVgo to build stations in New York, Los Angeles, Boston and San Francisco. In London, installations will be handled by Hubber and Ionity. In Paris and Madrid, Electra will lead deployment. Uber also maintains an ongoing partnership with Revel in New York City.
The Uber-developed and managed sites will open first in the Bay Area, Los Angeles and Dallas, before expanding to other cities. Many will be located at the company’s AV depots, where it already conducts day-to-day fleet operations such as cleaning, maintenance and inspections.
The strategy aligns with Uber’s broader AV push. Its deals span across ride-hail, delivery and freight. But most of those involve passenger EVs equipped with self-driving hardware. Those vehicles will need reliable, high-speed charging to stay in service. On top of that, Uber’s human driver network is increasingly going electric, especially in big cities like New York, adding another layer of demand.
Photo by: EVgo
Currently, Uber’s autonomous rides are limited to Austin, Atlanta and Phoenix, where Waymo robotaxis operate through the platform. Internationally, Uber has partnered with WeRide to offer autonomous rides in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Riyadh.
U.S. EV sales cooled after the federal tax credit expired last September. Yet charging infrastructure continued to expand. According to charging data platform Paren, 18,000 new public fast-charging stations were added last year, a 30% year-over-year increase. Charging networks are building ahead of demand in anticipation of an EV sales rebound fueled by more affordable and competitive models.
With most new robotaxis being electric, Uber’s investment would bolster what’s already a fast-growing EV charging market.
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