South Korean carmaker Hyundai and Grab an app-based consumer services provider have teamed up to enhance electric vehicle (EV) adoption in South East Asia.
According to media reports, affiliates of both companies will develop new pilot projects that lower barriers associated with EVs including cost of ownership, long wait times, and dearth of charging locations to encourage Grab driver and delivery partners to adopt EVs.
Under the partnership, both companies will also provide car-as-a-service and battery-as-a-service business models for EV financing, starting first in Singapore this year followed by expansion to Vietnam and Indonesia.
So far, Hyundai and Grab have undertaken extensive EV pilot studies in Southeast Asia, which have facilitated the high utilization of 200 Hyundai Kona EVs in Grab’s GrabRentals fleet in Singapore and Hyundai’s IONIQ vehicles for GrabCar Elektrik’s in Indonesia.
The group is relying on Grab’s extensive driver network and Hyundai’s mobility solutions for better adoption of EVs in Southeast Asia.
Grab noted that it is hoping for this partnership to provide enhanced day-to-day operations for its drivers and delivery partners as a larger plan to help the governments of Southeast Asian countries with their EV goals.
The app-based service provider already has partnerships with state-owned electricity and gas distributors in Singapore. Grab also supported the Indonesian government’s 2025 20pc EV transport target by launching an Electric Vehicle Ecosystem Roadmap in 2019.