Billionaire Gautam Adani and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi last week discussed the strategic alliance whereby Adani Group is looking to become a fleet operator by purchasing and listing hundreds of electric four-wheelers on Uber, the sources said.
ET was the first to report about the early talks between Adani Group and Uber in October 2022.
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Adani’s plans to enter the ride-hailing space will be centred around the seven airports it manages, including Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Jaipur, people aware of the matter said.
The secondary phase of the partnership with Uber could include integration of the cab aggregator’s app with Adani One, the conglomerate’s travel superapp, which was opened for the public in 2022, they added.
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“The conversations have been going on since mid-2022…but went on the backburner last year,” one of the persons said. “They were revived recently over the past few months, considering Khosrowshahi’s visit to India,” the person added.As per the plans, Adani group will not look at manufacturing cars, but will purchase and manage an EV fleet on Uber, sources said.
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Following his meeting with the Adani group chairman on Saturday, Khosrowshahi wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “An absolutely terrific conversation with @gautam_adani over delicious breakfast about India’s phenomenal growth and rising entrepreneurship. @Uber is committed to scaling up shared mobility and accelerating transition to EVs – looking forward to take our partnership to the next level.”
Adani had also posted on X, saying, “Absolutely captivating chat with @dkhos, CEO of @Uber. His vision for Uber’s expansion in India is truly inspiring, especially his commitment to uplifting Indian drivers and their dignity. Excited for future collaborations with Dara and his team! #UberIndia.”
The two companies already have a partnership in place under which Adani Airports has dedicated pick-up zones for Uber at its airports.
Uber has been tying up with fleet operators to expand its electric vehicle ride-hailing fleet, which it operates under the Uber Green service.
It announced an agreement with Tata Motors last year, under which Uber’s fleet partners such as Mumbai-based Everest Fleet would acquire 25,000 electric four-wheelers and deploy on the ride-hailing platform.
In an exclusive interview with ET, Khosrowshahi said the Silicon Valley firm is pushing ahead with its green agenda, and plans to convert its entire fleet to electric by 2040.
In addition to the EV partnership, Uber and Tata group are also exploring a strategic alliance, which could entail integrating Uber’s services as an ‘anchor app’ within the Tata Neu ecosystem, ET had reported exclusively on February 15.
Adani group already operates several travel related services including flight bookings and hotels under Adani One. Adani had picked up a 20% stake in Flipkart-owned online travel agency Cleartrip in October 2021.