India one of the toughest markets, succeeding here gives confidence to venture into other markets: Uber CEO

India is one of the toughest markets for Uber. Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber chief executive officer who is in India, said in a fireside chat with Nandan Nilekani in Bengaluru, “Indian audience is so demanding, but doesn’t want to pay.” Khosrowshahi added that succeeding in such a difficult market gives Uber the confidence to venture any other market.

On the sidelines of the chat between Khosrowshahi and Nilekani, ride hailing service Uber announced signing of a memorandum of understanding with Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). This MoU aims to explore an integration with the network to expand the range of mobility offerings on the Uber app.

“As the Open Network is continuously evolving, MTT (Mobility, Transport and Travel) is certainly a critical sector for us. Different players together on the Network foster innovation and newer business models. Today’s MoU is a major step forward, and one we hope will enable a diverse range of mobility solutions to benefit every Indian,” said T Koshy, MD and CEO of ONDC, who along with Prabhjeet Singh, President, Uber India and South Asia unveiled the partnership.

During the fireside chat cited above, Khosrowshahi also spoke about Uber’s business during Covid. Calling it dark days, he said the company suffered loss of $3 billion in that period, along with 85% of the volume. “We had to retrench from being an expansion focussed business to finding the core value,” he added. 

One of the highlights of the chat was the one focused on autonomous vehicles. Khosrowshahi said that it offers advantages such as safety and cost control, adding that it can be safer than average human driver but not all human drivers. “We are supportive of this ecosystem.”