Uber and Kia serve up 20,000 free electric vehicle rides

Thousands of tennis fans could claim a free ride to the Australian Open this summer as part of a program to get more people inside electric cars.

Uber and Kia announced the project on Saturday, with a goal to serve up more than 20,000 free rides over two weeks in Melbourne using a fleet of 50 electric vehicles.

The announcement comes weeks after a new vehicle efficiency standard came into effect and in a year predicted to achieve milestones for sales of low-emission cars.

It is the second time the companies have offered free electric vehicle rides around the Australian Open tennis tournament, with more than 10,000 rides accepted last year.

With a larger electric fleet this year, Uber Australia and New Zealand general manager Emma Foley said the companies planned to boost their reach.

“We’re hoping we’re going to be able to double the number of rides and kilometres travelled to get people around in a really environmentally friendly way,” she said.

“We are now doing more than 25,000 electric rides every day in Australia.”

The electric fleet available for the project will be made up of Kia EV6 and EV9 vehicles, Kia Australia chief executive Damien Meredith said, but more than half of the fleet would be EV5 vehicles which were released just two months ago.

The rides could represent the first experience in an electric vehicle for some passengers, he said, and the automaker planned to take the opportunity seriously.

“We’ve got a responsibility to make sure the general public have as much experience with electric vehicles as possible,” Mr Meredith told AAP.

The project will be held during the Australian Open, from January 12 to 26, and free rides will be available to Uber One members travelling from or to the Melbourne tennis precinct to a value of $100.

Australia’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard came into effect on January 1, setting an emission cap on automaker’s fleets and designed to encourage the import and adoption of hybrid and electric vehicles.

Electric vehicles continue to grow in popularity among Australian drivers. (Jono Searle/AAP PHOTOS)

The regulations gave brands greater certainty about the future of the automotive industry, Mr Meredith said, and encouraging drivers to try the technology would be the next step for many brands.

“It’s really important now that there is a pathway, there is consistency about what the legislation is and what manufactures have to do,” he said.

“Now it’s up to us to convince the buying public that this is the road we have to take.”

Sales of electric cars grew steadily during 2024 to more than 91,000 new vehicles, according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries and Electric Vehicle Council, and made up 8.3 per cent of the overall market in December.

Source: AAP