Uber Technologies CEO Dara Khosrowshahi met Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran in Davos earlier this year and they’re expected to talk again in Mumbai during the former’s upcoming India trip to discuss the broad contours of a potential alliance, executives aware of the matter said. The exact terms of engagement are still being worked out and there’s no guarantee it will lead to anything concrete.
Tata Digital, which runs Tata Neu, denied that any talks are ongoing. Uber did not respond to ET’s queries.
In recent times, Khosrowshahi has steered the cab aggregator into new areas such as grocery delivery and high-margin advertising as user numbers have ballooned to 150 million from 45 million seven years ago, when he took charge. Uber unveiled a $7 billion share buyback programme, its first, on Wednesday, days after reporting its first full year of operating profit, making it the latest Silicon Valley company to step up returns to shareholders.
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Tata Motors had signed an agreement with Uber in February to supply 25,000 electric vehicles. This is the largest EV commitment yet between an automaker and a ridesharing platform in India. Tata Motors will make deliveries of the XPRES-T EVs to Uber fleet partners in a phased manner. The partnership will help the electrification of Uber services in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad. The strategic alliance may also include a longer-term supply commitment. Tata Motors commands a 70% share in the passenger EV market and is aiming for a predominantly electric fleet by 2030. The partnership aligns with Uber’s zero-emission objectives and Tata Motors’ vision for EV mobility in India.A Tata Motors spokesperson said, “Uber is one of our key customers for our EV fleet offering. We regularly engage with our fleet customers to explore opportunities for accelerating the adoption of green, emission and noise free mobility.” Over 200 million people have downloaded the Uber app in India since its launch in 2013, as per App Annie, a data and analytics firm. In the next three years, based on demand projection, the aggregator has said it will need 150,000 to 200,000 new vehicles in the country for expansion and replacing old vehicles.The strategic partnership may also see equity participation, although this could not be independently verified. Tata Neu aims to cater to 50% of an average customer’s daily, monthly and annual needs, spanning groceries, medicines, fashion, food, travel and utility payments.
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