“The cars through this partnership are for rent, not for purchase, and will be at rates lower than the cheapest rentals in the market for other private hire vehicles (in order to encourage drivers to make the switch from their existing vehicle),” a spokesperson from Uber tells us. “Obviously running costs are quite a bit lower too – although how much lower obviously depends what car they are switching from.” Uber is starting first with 50 vehicles in London and — if all goes as planned — it will expand the service to another UK city in coming months, and projects to have “hundreds” of all-electric vehicles on the roads in the UK by next year.