Uber Commits $10 Billion to Autonomous Fleet Maintained by New Hertz Subsidiary

Uber Technologies incorporated a $10 billion capital commitment into its latest quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday. The company will purchase 35,000 electric vehicles from Lucid Motors to operate as autonomous taxis on the Uber network. Nuro will provide the Level 4 autonomous driving software. Level 4 automation means the car handles all driving functions without human intervention within a specific geographic boundary. Uber will not manage the physical fleet directly. Hertz Global Holdings announced in a press release distributed by Business Wire that it has formed a new subsidiary named Oro Mobility to handle all charging, maintenance, and daily cleaning for the Uber fleet.

This agreement moves the autonomous vehicle industry from limited test programs to commercial scale. A fleet of 35,000 vehicles requires significant physical infrastructure. Autonomous cars need regular charging and frequent interior cleaning to remain acceptable to paying passengers. Oro Mobility will build and operate regional depots to service these vehicles. According to the Business Wire release, Hertz created Oro Mobility specifically to provide physical asset management for software-focused ride companies.

People might question who rescues a driverless car when a tire blows out or a passenger leaves trash in the back seat. Oro Mobility employs human field technicians to manage these situations. The Business Wire statement explains that Oro dispatchers monitor vehicle health data continuously. When a Lucid vehicle reports low tire pressure or a soiled interior sensor, the system routes the car to the nearest depot. If the vehicle cannot drive itself, the dispatcher sends a human retrieval team. This support network keeps disabled vehicles from blocking public roads.

The first phase of the operation launches in the San Francisco Bay Area by the end of 2026. Electric-Vehicles.com, a digital news outlet tracking the battery-powered transportation sector, reported that Lucid has already begun manufacturing the specialized fleet vehicles at its factory in Arizona. Nuro engineers are mapping the designated San Francisco routes right now. The companies plan to expand the service to other major United States markets in early 2027.

Several important details remain unconfirmed. Uber has not disclosed the expected per-mile cost for passengers using the autonomous service. Neither Uber nor Lucid has provided a full breakdown of the $10 billion figure. The exact division of capital between vehicle manufacturing, software licensing, and Oro Mobility operations is absent from the public SEC filings.

Regulatory approvals present an open question for the 2027 expansion plans. Level 4 autonomous vehicles require operating permits from state and local transportation authorities. The California Department of Motor Vehicles has an established framework for robotaxi permits, but other target states may require new legislation before Uber can deploy the Lucid vehicles. The state of California requires companies to report all accidents and safety interventions. The public will have access to this safety data once the San Francisco fleet begins commercial operations.