Uber Growth 2019: Uber Freight Expands In Europe, Begins Operations In Germany

Ride-sharing company Uber (UBER) on Wednesday launched its Uber Freight service in Germany, aiming to gain a market share of the country's $500 billion trucking industry. Germany is the second European country to join the app service after the Netherlands in April.

Uber Freight is a platform that connects shippers of various goods to truck drivers. The service, which was launched in the U.S. in May 2017, is already available in 48 states.

Germany currently faces an impending truck driver shortage, with 40% of current drivers expected to retire in the next 10 to 15 years.

The Uber Freight service aims to mitigate this shortage and make it more efficient to connect companies to available truckers.

The company will be competing with Berlin-based freight forwarding startup Sennder GMBH, which recently raised $70 million in funding.

U.K.-based Zencargo and Freighthub are two other competitors to Uber Freight in the German market.

Uber has had a controversial history in Germany. Taxi drivers have expressed concern that the company would encroach on their business. In 2014, Uber attempted to swoop in on the German market, without regarding the country's strict regulatory system. In 2015, a German court effectively banned Uber cars that were unlicensed by German authorities.

German Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer said in 2018 that he wants to open up the German market to ride-sharing services like Uber by 2021.

The expansion comes after Uber went public in May.

Uber, which is available in 65 countries and over 600 cities, is also reportedly testing a subscription service that bundles car rides, scooter and bike rides, and its food delivery service Uber Eats.