Toyota and Uber have announced a European partnership designed to make hybrid, electric and approved used Toyota and Lexus vehicles easier for ride-hailing drivers and fleet partners to access. The deal bundles preferential vehicle pricing with flexible financing, leasing and usage-based insurance. Rollout begins in July 2026 across ten European countries, with a phased expansion to follow.

Toyota Motor Europe (TME) and Uber have entered a partnership aimed at lowering the barriers that keep ride-hailing drivers from moving into low- and zero-emission cars. Announced in Brussels on 20 July 2026, the deal offers Uber drivers and fleet partners preferential conditions on new and approved used Toyota and Lexus vehicles, alongside financing, leasing and insurance.

According to the companies, the tie-up builds on Toyota’s existing popularity among Uber drivers in Europe and is aimed at a pool representing hundreds of thousands of active individual drivers and fleets across the continent’s major markets.

A choice of powertrains, not a single mandate

Rather than pushing one technology, the programme is built around Toyota’s “multi-pathway” approach. Drivers can choose between hybrid, battery-electric and approved used Toyota and Lexus models as their entry point into electrified driving. The company says this reflects the wide differences in operating needs, running costs and charging infrastructure from one European country to the next — a practical acknowledgement that a full switch to battery-electric cars is not equally viable everywhere yet.

Professional drivers need electrified vehicles that work for them economically as well as operationally.

Toyota frames the move as part of its belief that the shift to lower-emission mobility should be inclusive and accessible, while Uber describes the appeal as an integrated package covering vehicle ownership, financing and maintenance in one place.

Four Toyota businesses under one offer

The partnership pulls together four separate Toyota entities so drivers deal with a single proposition:

  • Toyota Motor Europe shapes the vehicle offer, including hybrid and battery-electric models tuned to local market and infrastructure conditions.
  • Toyota Financial Services provides the financing and leasing options for accessing the cars.
  • Toyota Insurance Services supplies “Smart-Connected”, usage-based insurance aimed at professional drivers.
  • KINTO Europe, Toyota’s mobility-services brand, handles approved used vehicles as a lower-cost way in.

What it means for drivers

For ride-hailing drivers, the pitch is largely financial. Operating costs have been climbing and regulatory requirements in many European cities are tightening around emissions, so an integrated route that spreads the cost of a cleaner car — and covers insurance and maintenance — could ease the transition for people whose livelihoods depend on keeping a vehicle on the road. By leaning on used Toyota and Lexus stock through KINTO, the scheme also gives drivers a cheaper starting point than a new car.

The programme begins rolling out in July 2026 in ten European countries, with a phased expansion to the rest of Europe to follow. Neither the specific list of launch countries nor the exact pricing and financing terms were detailed in the announcement.

Source: newsroom.toyota.eu