Uber Hits Pause on Five European Market Launches
Synopsis
Expansion plans in countries including Austria, Norway and Greece have reportedly been delayed as Uber concentrates on building momentum in recently launched markets.
Key Highlights
- Uber has suspended launches across five European markets.
- Affected countries include Austria, Norway and Greece.
- The delay was announced while Uber is pursuing a move to acquire Delivery Hero.
Uber has also paused some of the expansion into European markets. Now five of the seven planned market launches for 2026 are currently suspended.
Launches have been delayed in Austria, Norway and Greece according to the Financial Times. Uber said in February that it would launch in a total of seven new European countries.
Uber Focuses on Existing Markets
Uber said its launches in Finland and Denmark had been a huge success but added it would like to focus on creating traction in existing markets, the Financial Times reported. Its a move announced that it slowed expansion of Uber in Europe to shore up its business.
Delivery Hero Consortium Deal May Have an Influence
Another reason could be that Uber is still working on getting Delivery Hero, which previously turned down a €10 billion takeover offer from the company in May.
The move was also said to at least mitigate potential antitrust fears because Delivery Hero operates delivery services in some of the potential expansion touchpoints, in the industry. It comes as competition in food delivery is getting hot globally, including in Australia where Uber Eats is battling DoorDash and Menulog.
Source: TechCrunch
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