Grab Holdings (GRAB, Financials) and BYD (BYDDY, Financials) signed a regional deal guaranteeing up to 50,000 electric cars for Grab’s driver-partners spread around Southeast Asia. According to the firms in a statement, the alliance seeks to remove financial obstacles to the acceptance of electric vehicles and advance local sustainable transportation.
Together covering Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, the cooperation encompasses a variety of BYD models. According to Grab’s release, these automobiles will be rented either via Grab’s fleet partners or via financing choices presented under Grab’s car ownership programs.
Grab pointed out that EVs part of this alliance would have longer battery guarantees to save drivers’ long-term expenses. Users in selected areas, like Singapore and Thailand, may choose a “Eco-Friendly Ride” option, which stresses green cars without additional fees, the business stated.
The deal also calls for incorporation of Internet of Things technologies. Grab said that BYD cars would let drivers control navigation and bookings more effectively by directly supporting their application straight via in-car screens. Grab’s platform would also include real-time telemetry data from the cars to provide insights into driving behaviors and maximize safety and efficiency, the firm said.
Grab also said that the data-sharing features of the cars would increase passenger predicted arrival times and boost routing accuracy. According to the release, both businesses want to leverage this cooperation to improve ride-hailing demand service and hone EV operations.
According to BYD Asia-Pacific General Manager Liu Xueliang in the release, the cooperation aims to increase EV adoption in South-east Asia. Grab said that as part of its larger environmental objectives, it still mostly concentrates on giving its driver-partners access to reasonably priced, sustainable car alternatives.
