For ride hailing service Uber (UBER), Abu Dhabi is about to be a major new part of its operations. In fact, it also represents a chance for Uber to make a comeback against the increasing threat of robotaxis.
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While the recent news about Waymo and its robotaxi services gave Uber investors a bit of a fright recently, the follow-up news that Uber would not be without representation in that field likely soothed a lot of troubled brows. The service will start slowly with human safety drivers in place on the early automated Uber rides, ready to step in and take over if needed.
Uber is getting together with China’s WeRide to set up the robotaxi deal, and Uber expects humans to be out of the picture by the end of 2025. Right now, the rides will be limited in scope, offering service between Saadiyat Island and Yas Island. Also, service will run in kind of a shuttle style along several routes to the Zayed International Airport.
Concern About Robotaxis
The latest Uber news comes at the right time the company’s stock was trading lower on news about Waymo, who is looking to get robotaxis into Miami. Between that and the moves that Tesla (TSLA) has made, it is a significant cause for concern. After all, who needs to hail a ride from a human driver if a car can simply show up and drive itself?
If Uber is not ready for a driverless future, it will be left to continue paying drivers while its competitors simply pay to maintain a fleet of vehicles, and that will put Uber inevitably behind. But with Uber apparently moving towards driverless operations, that will insulate it from some of the worst outcomes.
Is Uber Stock a Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on UBER stock based on 34 Buys and two Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 8.02% rally in its share price over the past year, the average UBER price target of $93.26 per share implies 41.54% upside potential.
