Toyota Motor Corporation has agreed to invest $1 billion in Southeast Asian ride-hailing group Grab, making Toyota a lead investor in Grab’s ongoing financing round.
As part of the agreement, Grab and Toyota will strengthen and expand their existing collaboration in the area of connected cars, to drive the adoption of new mobility solutions across Southeast Asia. The transaction is subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions.
This investment by Toyota is the largest-ever by an automotive manufacturer in the global ride-hailing sector, and brings Grab closer to achieving its vision of becoming a one-stop mobility platform in Southeast Asia. Grab plans to work with partners to create a more efficient transport network that will ease traffic congestion in Southeast Asia’s megacities, make mobility accessible for all, and provide driver-partners with increased income opportunities for them to move up the economic ladder.
Grab operates in 217 cities across eight Southeast Asian countries and offers users safe and affordable transport, food and package delivery, mobile payments, and financial services through its Grab mobile app.
Grab will work with Toyota on how connected car services on the Toyota Mobility Service Platform – such as user-based insurance, financing program, and predictive maintenance – could enrich the Grab experience for drivers on the Grab platform. Grab and Toyota will roll-out connected car services, such as telematics-based insurance, which may reduce the cost of insurance premiums for safer Grab drivers.
To deepen the strategic collaboration, one Toyota executive will be appointed to Grab’s board of directors and a dedicated Toyota team member will be seconded to Grab as an executive officer.
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