The Albanese Government is investing an additional $20 million to expand the electric vehicle fleet of rideshare provider Splend and helping more drivers get access to cleaner, cheaper-to-run vehicles.
The latest investment by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) builds on the rapid success of its first investment in the company in June 2023 and doubles their investment.
In less than 6 months, the first $20 million from the CEFC boosted the number of EVs in Splend's fleet by 500 cars, showing the strong demand for EVs among rideshare drivers.
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said the government's finance was helping more rideshare drivers make smarter vehicle choices for a cleaner and brighter future.
"Rideshare drivers can clock over four times as many kilometres as typical vehicles. So the more we help rideshare drivers choose cleaner, cheaper-to-run EVs, the greater savings they'll see and the more transport sector emissions we can cut," Minister Bowen said.
"We know from industry estimates that EV drivers can save up to 70% on fuel and 40% on the costs of maintenance compared with those driving internal combustion engine vehicles."
The new CEFC investment will take Splend's EV fleet to 2,000, allowing another 500 rideshare drivers to save about $100 weekly on vehicle costs, fuel and servicing, and adding more EVs to the second-hand car market.
Splend, Australia's top rideshare EV provider, offers drivers access to affordable EVs on a subscription plan that allows them to pay a weekly fee, with the option to own the EV when the subscription expires.
Rideshare services like Uber, Didi and Ola are a growing part of the transport sector, which is the third largest source of Australia's emissions, accounting for 22.5% of national emissions in 2023.
The CEFC's investments in Splend add to Albanese Government initiatives like the Electric Car Discount, the National EV Strategy and a New Vehicle Efficiency Standard to give Australians access to cleaner, cheaper-to-run vehicles.
