Australia’s largest provider of vehicle subscriptions to the rideshare sector has started rolling out a fleet of Polestar 2 electric fastbacks as it makes a bid to decarbonise the industry.
Since securing $1.8 million from the NSW government’s $105 million Drive Electric fleets incentive, boosting the $150 million in funding it raised in April, the Uber partner has set out to reach a target of 10,000 on its Australian and UK fleets by 2024.
Having already added Tesla Model 3s to its fleet in March, it is now rolling out the Polestar 2 in both Long Range and Standard Range formats as well.
It says the addition of the Polestar 2s to the fleet will make it the “biggest single operator of EVs in the nation” in coming months.
The rideshare vehicle operator’s transition to electric vehicles is significant. Rideshare vehicles have much higher utilisation rates than privately owned vehicles; that is, they are on the road for more hours a day.
This means that the carbon mitigation benefits to be had from driving them, compared to an average 30-40km a day by private owners, is as much as four or five times higher.
According to Splend, full time rideshare drivers “drive on average 50-60,000 kms per year and part time drivers will do around 25-30,000 km per year.”
Splend has not divulged exactly how many Polestar 2s will join its fleet, but expect to start seeing them on roads in a city near you soon.
For Polestar, the Splend deal is something of a coup: it has already cut a deal with car hire giant Hertz, for which it is set to provide 65,000 Polestar EVs globally.
Rideshare drivers can enter into a rent-to-own plan with Splend to acquire a Polestar 2. The contracts are inclusive of “finance, insurance and maintenance into a simple weekly subscription,” Splend says.
Founder and CEO of Splend Chris King described the deal as “exciting,” stating to media that for “each on-demand driver we transition to an EV, we’re removing an estimated 8.5 tonnes of tailpipe carbon out of the atmosphere every year.”
This article has been updated for clarity with regard to Splend offering vehicle subscriptions, not rental vehicles.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.