Uber bringing its premium ‘Black’ service back to India, beginning with Mumbai

Uber is bringing back Uber Black to India with the aim of pushing premium experiences, it was reported. The ride-hailing platform will roll out the service in the next few weeks starting with some localities in Mumbai, Economic Times reported citing people in the know.
Uber had begun operations in India in 2013 with Uber Black, under which C-suite cars such as Mercedes, BMW and Audi were available. This was later replaced by luxury cars like Toyota Innova, Honda City and Toyota Corolla but the service was halted in 2014.
Uber Black’s new version in India will be a “far more sustainable model” where customers will be provided with a white glove cab service in bigger cars than currently available commercial sedans, the report claimed. Sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) and multi-utility vehicles (MUVs) of Toyota, MG and others will be used for the service, it added. Uber Black will be priced 30-40% higher than the platform’s existing top product Uber Premier.
Uber expects it to have “huge traction with corporate travel use cases,” the report claimed citing a person in the know who added, “The service is being launched through Uber’s fleet partners.”
Uber is aiming to serves all groups of customers and “to that extent, the platform is looking at introducing products for both ends of the spectrum”, a source told the outlet.
“For Uber in India, its premium ride-hailing products are growing much faster than Uber Go, which is the entry-level on-demand taxi offering…and the company is looking to double down on the higher-end services,” the person said.
Uber confirmed the development with the company spokesperson saying, “There is a critical mass of travellers that are willing to pay a premium for on-demand services that give them high-end experience and as Uber caters to a full spectrum of riders with different mobility needs, we are responding to this growing demand.”