Tech

Uber ‘moving in the right direction’ and will hopefully keep London license, exec says

Key Points
  • Uber has been fighting to keep its license to operate in London through an appeal.
  • The firm is currently trying to reshape its image under the tenure of Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi.
Uber exec: London a very important, strategic market for us
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Uber exec: London a very important, strategic market for us

Uber has taken steps to improve its business model and is hopeful it will regain its license to operate in London, the firm's head of EMEA said Thursday.

"London is a very important and strategic market for us, obviously," Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty told CNBC's Karen Tso. "I think the situation in London is a good example of what's been happening across the company."

Gore-Coty said Uber was moving from a "growth-at-all-costs" approach to a "responsible growth" approach to how it operates.

Uber was stripped of its license last year by Transport for London, but the company has been fighting to keep the right to operate in the British capital through an appeal. It recently appointed Jamie Heywood, a former Amazon executive, as its new Northern Europe boss.

Uber launches French flying taxi lab, Europe-wide insurance coverage
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Uber launches French flying taxi lab, Europe-wide insurance coverage

The firm is currently trying to reshape its image under the tenure of Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi. Under former boss Travis Kalanick, Uber was hit with a series of scandals, from sexual harassment complaints against the company, to the use of software, to allegedly blocking regulators from gaining full access to the Uber app.

On Thursday, Uber announced it was opening a center in France devoted to developing its flying taxi technology. A day earlier, it said it was expanding insurance coverage for drivers across Europe.