WeFlex to provide thousands of EVs to UK ride-hail drivers working for Uber, Bolt, FreeNow & Ola
The green entrepreneur, Nicko Williamson, who sold his first business ClimateCars to Addison Lee before founding ride-hailing industry Rent-to-Buy business, WeFlex, has pledged to provide only electric vehicles by 2024 in a drive to tackle the current driver shortage affecting the industry.
WeFlex will provide thousands of electric vehicles to the ride-hailing industry across the UK, with the majority of drivers on platforms like Uber, Bolt, FreeNow and Ola.
It is financing new electric vehicles at a rapid rate and increasing the range of EVs available on its flexible Rent to Buy platform as a means to attract back the thousands of drivers who have left the industry because of the pandemic.
Uber recently announced plans to recruit 20,000 more drivers to cope with increased demand since reopening, including 9,000 in the capital. It has also promised an entirely electric fleet by 2025 in London.
WeFlex Founder Nicko Williamson said: “As pandemic restrictions lifted, we’ve seen the floodgates open in terms of rider demand. Unfortunately, there’s a shortage of drivers across the Ride Hailing market, which was hit so hard by coronavirus, with livelihoods for many drying up overnight.
“We’re on a mission to attract drivers back into this great industry to shore up availability to help the providers meet growing consumer demand which at present outstrips supply.
“Electric cars are the silver bullet for this as they are great for the environment, far more economical to run and charging infrastructure is improving rapidly- there are now more than 8,000 charge points in London for EVs, more than 500 of which are rapid chargers.”
