A major part of the on-demand ride-hailing app Uber’s claim to fame is its purported ability to undercut the prices of your local taxi service. Of course, there are upmarket options if you’re feeling fancy, like UberBLACK, which charges more for a roomier, more luxurious ride. But according to a report, Uber might be planning on going way, way fancier, by purchasing 100,000 examples of the Mercedes-Benz S-class sedan.
Reuters reports that Uber has placed a long-term order with Daimler to the tune of “at least 100,000″ S-class sedans. That, fair reader, is a car that costs something like $100,000 each, making this potentially a $10 billion deal.
Of course, Uber is probably able to take advantage of some kind of fleet pricing incentive, but still?even if the ride-hailing startup is getting the cars at half price, that still totals out to a $5 billion agreement. Which leads to a question: Why does Uber want all those Mercedes sedans" Reuters indicates that Uber has been shopping around intending to place a large order for fully autonomous cars; this report from German news outlet Der Spiegel mentions that Uber founder Travis Kalanick was interested solely in self-driving cars. If that’s the case, Uber might be disappointed by the Mercedes flagship, which currently is only capable of short stints of semi-autonomous driving. It’s projected that a fully autonomous vehicle won’t be ready until at least 2020, whether it’s built...