Ford is making it easier for Uber drivers to rent its electric vehicles, as part of a collaboration with the rideshare company announced on Thursday.
The pilot program, called Ford Drive, offers rideshare drivers access to Ford Mustang Mach-E models and has rolled out in San Diego, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
Ford says Uber rideshare drivers will be allowed to select their vehicles for between one- and four-month increments, depending on their location. Vehicles will be delivered to the driver within two weeks, and drivers will manage payments and service in the Ford Drive app.
This "flexible lease pilot" initially launched in 2022 for Uber drivers in San Diego.
“We understand uptime and ease of use are critical to every rideshare driver. As more of them make the switch to electric vehicles, we’re building the Ford Drive program around their unique needs," says Bill Knapp, Ford Drive lead. "We’re glad that the initial feedback on this venture has been so strong, and it’s exciting to learn from these driver experiences to explore solutions supporting Uber and Ford’s shared electrification goals.”
Given Uber drivers with fully electric vehicles earn an extra $1 from Uber on every trip (which means they can rack up as much as $4,000 extra per calendar year), the lease pilot is being touted as a way for drivers to decrease emissions while picking up additional cash.
The move comes as Ford invests more than $50 billion in electric vehicles as part of its Ford+ plan to deliver a 600,000 EV production run rate globally by the end of this year and 2 million globally by the end of 2026.
Meanwhile, Ford last month announced it will manufacture its EVs with Tesla's proprietary charging port starting in 2025. Ford drivers will also get access to 12,000 Tesla Superchargers starting in 2024.
