Uber's New EV Tie-Up With Hayleys — Cheaper Rides for Drivers, or a Lease Trap?

Uber Sri Lanka and Hayleys Mobility announced a tie-up this month giving Uber drivers a discounted price on the Kaiyi eVibe electric car, plus leasing through more than 20 finance partners. The pitch: lower running costs so drivers keep more of what they earn per trip. The case for it: a petrol or tuk driver burns a big chunk of daily earnings on fuel, so if an EV genuinely cuts that cost, a driver comes out ahead even after the lease instalment. The case against: drivers are being steered toward a brand-new import with its own lease, insurance and resale-value risk, in a market where charging points are still thin outside Colombo — and if the math doesn't work out, it's the driver holding the debt, not Uber or Hayleys. Would you take this deal if you drove for Uber? What's your real daily fuel spend now, and does an EV lease actually beat it once you add the monthly instalment? ඔබ Uber රියදුරෙක් නම්, මේ වගේ EV lease එකක් ගන්න කැමතිද? ඔබේ දවසේ ඉන්ධන වියදම කීයද?