Hyundai and South Asian ride-sharing giant Grab have expanded their partnership to propel the adoption of electric vehicles in the region. Recently, Hyundai subsidiary Kia closed a similar deal with Europe with Uber. As a part of the deal with Grab, Hyundai and Kia Motors will develop new pilots and initiatives that will lower the barriers that exist for the entry especially for Grab drivers and delivery partners to adopt EVs. They will work on models to lower the total cost of ownership and reduce range anxiety.
The two brands will leverage their insights from the pilot project in Singapore where they found a high cost of ownership and lack of charging stations and long wait times for charging. The two now are launching a leasing EV with the battery as a service model or car as a service model and will also offer financing for the same. Both will also jointly develop an EV roadmap for southeast Asia which will first start in Singapore and then expand to Vietnam and Indonesia.
Grab ride hailing company
Grab and Hyundai will also conduct a feasibility study to understand the gaps and barriers for the widespread adoption of EVs. Both will also collaborate on smart city solutions as well.
"Hyundai Motor Group and Grab were able to discover the possibility of EV businesses in Southeast Asia through our cooperation from 2018. With Grab having the largest driver network in the region and Hyundai's comprehensive mobility solutions, we are confident that together we can help to increase the adoption of EVs and ultimately reduce carbon emissions throughout the region. Beyond its ongoing projects, the Group expects additional cooperation with Grab to be a key driver to lead the mobility market of the future in Southeast Asia," said Minsung Kim, Vice President of the Innovation Division at Hyundai Motor Group.
"While EVs are relatively nascent in Southeast Asia, Grab plans to play a vital role in working with partners and governments to accelerate EV adoption. As government EV policies and incentives are implemented and essential infrastructure like charging stations continue to be built, this partnership will provide insights and best practices on the usage of EVs as part of the day-to-day operations of driver and delivery partners. For example, we've piloted ways to reduce driver-partners downtime by enabling them to swap their e-moped batteries at GrabKitchen while they wait to collect food orders. Successful EV adoption is a multi-stakeholder effort, particularly in Southeast Asia, and we'll continue to leverage our technology and operational leadership to build a fleet for the future," added Russell Cohen, Group Managing Director of Operations, Grab.
