Uber in South Africa has launched its first fleet of electric vehicles. The roll-out has started in Johannesburg. There are currently 70 cars on the road, and 350 will be on the streets by the end of January.

The Henrey Minicar 4-seater has been imported from China by Valternative Energy, which has partnered with Uber Electric on the project. Valternative has another partnership with Uber for its electric motorbikes.

Valternative created the country’s first swap-and-go EV system – combining electric bikes, battery-swap stations and battery subscriptions.

The introduction of the EVs is part of Uber’s mission to ensure that 100% of its rides and deliveries are in zero-emission vehicles by 2040. Commuters can expect to pay entry-level prices similar to Uber Go.

Deepesh Thomas, GM for Uber sub-Saharan Africa, told the launch event in Johannesburg on Monday that Uber Electric will be expanded across multiple cities.

He said it will be hugely beneficial for the drivers. “The drivers don’t have to buy a vehicle. They can rent the vehicle. They [have access] to charging infrastructure (through Valternative). They manage the vehicles and manage the drivers. And what this means is, essentially, the drivers can come in, they can have access to a vehicle without having the onerous cost of buying or financing an electric vehicle,” Thomas explained.

‘Transport poverty’

“They have it fully charged. They have access to charging infrastructure, and it also removes the uncertainty of fuel prices increasing, so they have stability in terms of earnings. They focus on doing trips, and ultimately once you scale the unit economics, it makes a lot more sense than a typical internal combustion engine vehicle.”

He said as Uber Electric and Uber Moto (motorbikes) scale, it will help tackle what he describes as South Africa’s “transport poverty”.

Read: South Africa’s EV policy stuck in neutral

Mohamed Jeewa, Valternative CEO, said it took “some time” to recruit the drivers. “Getting the mentality of the drivers to understand that once they jump into the vehicle, there are no more costs [was a challenge]. Another very big thing that people don’t know is that last-mile drivers in the country really live on a very tight budget,” he said.

“They wake up in the morning, they have ‘X’ amount of rand in their pocket for fuel. Once their money is finished, they go home and they come back when it’s morning. What we managed to do is remove that cash-flow restriction. So, every Monday when Uber pays out, we pay them. They get a lump sum in their pocket, and there’s zero cash interference per week [because they don’t have to buy fuel].”