Uber to bring ‘Black’ back in big premiumisation push

Pranav Mukul Pranav Mukul | 08-26 16:20

The thinking within the company is to be a mobility app that serves all groups of customers, another person aware of Uber’s operations said.
Ride-hailing platform Uber is bringing back its flagship top-of-the-line product Uber Black to the country at a time when Indian consumers across segments are spending more for premium experiences.

The service is expected to be rolled out in the next few weeks, starting with some localities in Mumbai, people close to the development said.

The company had started its India operations in 2013 with Uber Black, under which C-suite cars such as Mercedes, BMW and Audi were available on demand. It later replaced the luxury cars with the likes of Toyota Innova, Honda City and Toyota Corolla. The service was halted a year later.

The revamped version of Uber Black will be a “far more sustainable model” where customers will be provided with a white glove cab service in bigger cars than currently available commercial sedans, one of the persons cited above said. Sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) and multi utility vehicles (MUVs) of Toyota, MG and others will be used for the service, the person added. Uber Black will be priced 30-40% higher than the platform’s existing top product Uber Premier, and the company expects it to have “huge traction with corporate travel use cases,” the person said.

“The service is being launched through Uber’s fleet partners,” the person said. The US-based ride-hailing giant has been investing in scaling up its fleet partners. Last year, it led a USD 20-million funding round in Mumbai-based Everest Fleet, one of its largest vehicle partners.

The thinking within the company is to be a mobility app that serves all groups of customers, another person aware of Uber’s operations said.

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