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> Question is, who are competitors with same scope as them? I don't know any. Presumably traditional car manufacturers (GM, Ford, Toyota, BMW, etc.), upstart c

> Question is, who are competitors with same scope as them? I don't know any. Presumably traditional car manufacturers (GM, Ford, Toyota, BMW, etc.), upstart car manufacturers (Tesla), and even other large tech conglomerates (Google, Baidu, etc.). > They are already in position to just switch over. Others would have to build their network first. It's a running start that depends on them playing their cards right. Uber won't have a monopoly in self-driving tech. Their running start will get eroded (some would argue quickly) by new challengers (probably regional upstarts rather than a global competitor) that have easy access to self-driving tech (think car manufacturers). Also, Uber's network is mostly on the software and human (drivers) side of things. If self-driving tech becomes a reality, they'll have to quickly pivot to purchasing and maintaining a large fleet of cars. That's not an easy task at scale and not something that Uber necessarily has an advantage over others.

Keyframe 10y ago
Why aren't car manufacturers already in logistics business? Or are they? I'm trying to find sources. I see VW has its own logistics group, but only for their own use.
- xemdetia 10y ago
  In the US at least (I haven't ever bothered to look at how branded car dealers exist outside the US), they already have a network of physical locations where they can ship anything and service anything they sell. There are also the rental agencies and the people that manage fleets of private vehicles that work directly with the local dealers on behest of the global organization- Uber doesn't have this and would have to build it. Right now they are pushing that part of the logistics of their organization on their drivers since it is their own personal vehicle. This is something you can see Tesla having to do the hard way in comparison with their coast to coast supercharger network. There was no physical infrastructure to support their product so they had to build it, and established car dealers already have it which is part of why Tesla overcoming that was such a challenge. If I have a US make car in the US and I am in a moderately populated area I can make a reasonable assumption I can get to a dealer in an hour or two wherever I may be, and Uber would have to overcome that.
- secabeen 10y ago
  They have been. Between 1987 and 2005, Hertz was owned by Ford and Volvo. They spun it off to private equity in 2005, but it has happened in the past.
dragonwriter 10y ago
Google may be a competitor, but it may be more of an enabler of competitors to Uber, by way of, e.g., it's ridesharing feature in Maps.

Keyframe 10y ago

Why aren't car manufacturers already in logistics business? Or are they? I'm trying to find sources. I see VW has its own logistics group, but only for their own use.

xemdetia 10y ago
In the US at least (I haven't ever bothered to look at how branded car dealers exist outside the US), they already have a network of physical locations where they can ship anything and service anything they sell. There are also the rental agencies and the people that manage fleets of private vehicles that work directly with the local dealers on behest of the global organization- Uber doesn't have this and would have to build it. Right now they are pushing that part of the logistics of their organization on their drivers since it is their own personal vehicle. This is something you can see Tesla having to do the hard way in comparison with their coast to coast supercharger network. There was no physical infrastructure to support their product so they had to build it, and established car dealers already have it which is part of why Tesla overcoming that was such a challenge. If I have a US make car in the US and I am in a moderately populated area I can make a reasonable assumption I can get to a dealer in an hour or two wherever I may be, and Uber would have to overcome that.
secabeen 10y ago
They have been. Between 1987 and 2005, Hertz was owned by Ford and Volvo. They spun it off to private equity in 2005, but it has happened in the past.

dragonwriter 10y ago

Google may be a competitor, but it may be more of an enabler of competitors to Uber, by way of, e.g., it's ridesharing feature in Maps.