- Uber has paused most of its planned food delivery expansion in Europe for 2026
- Launch plans shelved in five of seven targeted European markets including Austria and Norway
- Uber aims to generate $1 billion in gross bookings from prior planned European expansion
Ride-hailing giant Uber has paused most of its planned food delivery expansion across Europe, just months after unveiling an ambitious expansion plan, amid ongoing efforts to acquire German food delivery company Delivery Hero, reported Financial Times.
The report said Uber has shelved launch plans in five of the seven European markets it had originally targeted for 2026, including Austria, Norway and Greece. The other two countries were not identified.
ALSO READ | Uber India's Outgoing Chief Prabhjeet Singh To Join OpenAI As India MD: Report
Earlier this year, the San Francisco-based company had announced plans to expand Uber Eats into Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway, the Czech Republic, Greece and Romania, with the initiative expected to generate an additional $1 billion in gross bookings over the next three years.
Despite slowing its expansion, Uber remains focused on acquiring Delivery Hero. In May, Delivery Hero disclosed that it had received a takeover proposal from Uber valued at €33 per share.
Reuters had also reported that Uber increased its stake in the German company to nearly 37% from 25% after purchasing additional shares from investor Aspex Management.
According to FT, Uber said the decision to pause further expansion followed the strong performance of its launches in Finland and Denmark.
ALSO READ | This Small-Cap Meta, Uber, Coinbase Supplier Has A Rs 2,964-Crore Order Book. What Comes Next?
The company said it now intends to concentrate on building momentum in markets where Uber Eats has already been introduced rather than entering new countries immediately.
Reuters, though, could not independently verify the FT report, and reported that neither Uber nor Delivery Hero responded to requests for comment outside the company's remarks to the newspaper.
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.