Hyundai extends strategic partnership with Grab to promote EVs in Southeast Asia
Hyundai Motor Group on Tuesday has announced an extension of its strategic partnership with ride-hailing giant Grab to promote electric mobility in the Southeast Asian region. The next phase of the alliance between these two companies will focus on accelerating electric vehicle adoption in the region.
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Under this partnership, both Hyundai and Kia will work with Grab. These companies are claimed to be working on pilot projects to reduce the cost of ownership and range anxiety for the Grab drivers. Grab aims to increase electric vehicles in its ride-sharing and delivery fleet through this project.
Hyundai Motor Group has been aiming to become a mobility service provider instead of just an automobile manufacturer, just like several other automakers around the world. The partnership appears to be a part of that stratetgy. The South Korean automobile giant plans to launch new pilot projects such as electric vehicle leasing, battery-as-a-service, car-as-a-service. Besides that, it also plans to introduce a dedicated EV financing model.
The pilot programes are claimed to start in 2021 in Singapore. Then it will expand to Indonesia and Vietnam as well.
Commenting on this strategic partnership, Minsung Kim, vice president of the Innovation Division at Hyundai Motor Group, said that the automaker and Grab were able to discover the possibility of EV businesses in Southeast Asia through their alliance since 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 on-going projects, the Group expects additional cooperation with Grab to be a key driver to lead the mobility market of the future in Southeast Asia," Kim further added.
Hyundai last year had unveiled a dedicated electric vehicle platform. The automaker aims to roll out at least 23 EVs across different bodystyles based on this architecture by 2025. The strateguic partnership with Grab would give the automaker a platform to further strengthen its EV drive.
