A small Chinese startup wants to jumpstart a global EV taxi revolution

This kiosk, which highlights batteries, is the first network of hundreds planned for Hong Kong by U Power, an unknown startup from Shanghai aimed at stimulating the heart of the city’s old taxi fleet in the city.

The opportunity is huge. In Hong Kong, electric cars make up only 4 % of the 119,000 commercial city vehicle, including taxis, buses and delivery trucks. For taxis, the percentage of EVS is lower. As of December 2024, Hong Kong had only 90 electric taxis, representing 0.5 % of the 18,163 city taxi. This is a blatant contradiction with a 24 % penetration rate between the city’s private car fleet.

Hong Kong represents a global phenomenon: of more than 400 million trade cars worldwide, less than 1 % of electricity. Even in high hacking cities – including San Francisco, Oslo and Amsterdam – electric taxis are still rare.

In theory, Hong Kong taxi owners have strong financial incentives for the switch. Electric motors, which contain less animated parts than internal combustion engines, are cheaper in running and maintenance. Several recent studies indicate that EVS fuel costs are less than 70 % than gas -powered vehicles, translating into annual savings of about $ 10,000 per taxi. The Hong Kong government offers more temptations: I have given registration taxes for the first time to electric taxis and given $ 45,000 from Hong Kong (about $ 5,750) for every vehicle for operators who turn from gas to electricity.

However, owners and drivers are careful. For commercial vehicles, especially taxis, each minute of stopping means lost revenue. The traditional EV charging is very slow for highly used fleets. Hong Kong includes more than 11,000 EV shipments, but only about 2000 of quick or fast charger, able to restore batteries to 80 % in 30 to 60 minutes. The rest can take several hours to completely recharge a vehicle – as most drivers do not enjoy.

As he indicates, the medium taxi driver earns $ 200 from Hong Kong (about $ 25) per hour: “You are asking them to sit in lethargy for two hours? In any way. This is 400 [Hong Kong] The dollars went. “Moreover, many public charging stations impose parking fees per hour, which increases EVS’s economic condition.

Batter replacing stations can eliminate that stop – but only if U Power can build enough of them throughout the city and persuade drivers to adopt the model. The company hopes that there will be four stations in Hong Kong by the end of this year and finally imagine a city level of more than 200.

Behind Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a high -level test, but I have global aspirations. U Power launched pilots in Singapore and Macau, and actively launching the swap stations in Thailand, Mexico, Portugal and Peru. Lee Thailand and Mexico sees particularly promising due to large fares and vehicle high rotation. Bangkok notes 80,000 taxis. Mexico City has more than 100,000.

In Thailand, U Power last year signed a strategic partnership with Saic Motor -CP, a joint venture between one of the largest car manufacturers in China and the CP group, the largest group in Thailand. The project aims to integrate the MG taxi exchange technology and horseback vehicles. (Detection: luckThe owner of Chatchaval Jiaravanon, is a family member who controls the CP group, and is one of the largest U Power investors.)

U Power has also formed a joint venture with SUSCO, a Thai oil and fuel retail stores, to install stalls in its network of 200 fuel stations and cooperated with Sumitomo Mitsui Auto Leasing & Service in Japan to deploy a fleet of MGS compatible with swap in Phuct Island Province.

The company now says it is planning to transfer its operating headquarters from Shanghai to Bangkok to feed its global expansion.

In Mexico, the company has made a partnership with the Vizeon New Energy Fleet to develop EV taxis, buses and trucks, and installing trial exchange stations in three main cities. Similar efforts are underway in Lisbon and Lima, where U Power targets the average fleet operators and delivery platforms.

Nevertheless, although U Power has no plans to enter the world’s largest markets: the United States and China. The United States describes Li as a low -density urban, fragmented infrastructure, and an unexpected organizational scene for Chinese technology companies. It also excludes the Chinese mainland due to intense competition, the Ev Ev-occupying, and the advanced power network to the extent that the highly excessive fast charging is widely available-which makes the battery exchange very unnecessary.

The largest city in China is noticeable exceptions to global domination of gas cars. Electric cars represent more than 95 % of the taxi fleet in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. In the Hong Kong, the sprawling capital of Hong Kong, the authorities have imposed the fully transferred taxi and bus fleets in the city until 2018.

A wild trip on the Nasdak Stock Exchange

U Power Power of Global Expansion has ignited one of the most virtual post -explosive gatherings in the history of the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. When the company first appeared in April 2023, the shares rose by more than 600 % on the opening day, which led to multiple commercial stops. Retailing traders accumulated, who were compassionate with a promise to play the destroyed Chinese infrastructure. The stock, which is trading under the UCAR title, reached its climax at $ 901 in June before speculative enthusiasm collapsed. By the year, the shares of the end of the year fell to $ 18. Over the past 52 weeks, the U Power share price fluctuates between $ 9.05 and $ 2.47, with daily fluctuations often exceeding 10 %. The stock is currently trading less than $ 4.00, a decrease of more than 50 % on an annual basis. There is no main analyst at Wall Street currently affiliated with UCAR.

The recession in U Power shares reflects investor doubts about the feasibility of the “battery as a service” model and its frustration through its faded financial data. Critics ask whether the battery exchange network – intense in its head, depends on the adoption of the fleet, and distributing it across many different markets – can expand profitable. The company, which was launched in 2013, remains unintended, as it published a net loss of $ 7.7 million at $ 6.08 million of revenues in 2024, according to the documents submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Committee.

I insist that the company will collapse even in 2025 and earn three times in 2026, thanks to the expansion of fleet contracts and the increase in subscription revenues in Southeast Asia and Latin America.

Owners, drivers, hearts and minds

To realize the major LI visions, U Power should secure hundreds of viable swap sites in some of the most busy cities in the world. This is a particularly difficult suggestion in Hong Kong, where the Earth is expensive, and each site will require the approvals of dividing regions, network connection, and access to vehicles every hour. To date, U Power has set only ten potential sites in the city.

The biggest challenge may be cultural. The victory over 17 owners of the Hong Kong taxi fleet and about 46,000 of the highly independent drivers means the reshaping of deep customs and doubts. The U Power of the operators requires the abandonment of battery ownership, the re -modernization of cars with the company’s UTTA interface, and pay the monthly subscription fees associated with the use of the battery – the corridors that may not sit easily with a long sense of central control.

Li insists that the economy will win. By separating the batteries from vehicles, as it argues, taxi owners can reduce the costs provided by up to 40 %. At the same time, U Power holds a responsibility to charge logistical services, monitor battery health, and recycle the end of life. With the deterioration of the batteries, they are rotated to less demanding uses – such as storing fixed energy – or directly recycling.

To sweeten the deal, LI float on the Blockchain -based incentive system. Each battery has a slice that records use, charging behavior, and wearing it. Drivers who follow optimum patterns-avoid swaps of peak hours, and restore batteries in good condition-earn digital codes that can be recovered for energy or services discounts. Objective: a transparent market and self -regulation that reduces pressure on the network with a bonus of smart use.

Isaac Lawrence – AFP via Getty Images

Whether the Hong Kong taxi sector will buy in remains. The red, green and blue taxi vehicles for the city – bearing the island of Hong Kong and Colon, green for new lands, and blue for Lantau – are immediately known symbols for the city. It is also famous. Most drivers still only accept money and have long attracted complaints from rude service, excessive charging, and reckless driving. Reform efforts have hit the walls over and over again: The high fees proposed in 1984 led to riots at the city level; Drivers carried out mass strikes in 1991 and 2008; And only in February, the Federation of Drivers threatened another unless the government breaks unlicensed horseback services such as Uber.

At the Hong Kong launch ceremony at U Power in June, the President of the Hong Kong Taxi and Workshops Association attended and signed a memorandum to understand the pledge to promote the adoption of the Uotta system. Despite this, although there are no representatives of the Hong Kong taxi association, which represents the interests of taxi license owners – and is generally considered more powerful in the political point of view in the main event.

However, the symbolism of taxis in Hong Kong is strong. In 2023, when the city stock exchange opened offices in New York and London, the teacher was distinguished with a global advertising campaign, at the time, which included Nicholas Eguzin Trading via Manhattan and Mivier – not in a black Limousine, but at the back of the classic Hong Kong taxi. If I have a way, the next time that these taxis are made an international veil, it will be operated on a transformed power – a symbol not only for the city, but for the future of electrical transportation.