Toyota to Invest US$1bil in Grab

Toyota to invest US$1bil in Grab

By Digital News Asia June 13, 2018

Largest investment globally by an automotive manufacturer in the ride-hailing sector
Investment will accelerate Grab’s next phase of growth to build SEA’s leading O2O mobile platform

Toyota to invest US$1bil in Grab

GRAB Holdings Inc (Grab), Southeast Asia’s leading O2O (Online to Offline) mobile platform, announced on June 13 that it has reached an agreement with Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) under which Toyota will invest US$1 billion (RM3.99 billion) in Grab, as a lead investor in the company’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.

As the leading mobile O2O platform in Southeast Asia, this investment allows Grab to further expand its range of O2O services, such as GrabFood and GrabPay, deeper into the region.

Toyota to invest US$1bil in Grab 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.

Ming Maa (pic, right), president of Grab, said: “As a global leader in the automotive industry, Toyota’s investment in Grab is based on their conviction in our leadership in driving the adoption of new mobility solutions and expanding O2O mobile services, such as GrabFood and GrabPay, in the region. Grab is the first Southeast Asian technology startup to have achieved run rate revenues of over US$1 billion across an installed mobile base of over 100 million users.

“Our rapid user and revenue growth is a testament to our ability to hyper-localise, efficiently execute and provide the highest efficiency platform in a region as diverse as Southeast Asia. We are honoured to be supported by industry leaders including Toyota, Uber, Didi and SoftBank.”

Shigeki Tomoyama, Toyota executive vice president and president of Toyota’s in-house Connected Car Company said: “I am delighted that we are strengthening our collaboration, which utilises Toyota’s connected technologies, with Grab, Southeast Asia’s leading ride-hailing company. Going forward, together with Grab, we will develop services that are more attractive, safe and secure for our customers in Southeast Asia.”

Grab will work with Toyota on how connected car services on the Toyota Mobility Service Platform (MSPF) – 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.