Toyota To Invest 1 Billion U.S Dollars In Grab

Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) announced today that it will be investing 1 billion U.S dollars into Grab to expand the collaboration between the two companies, as well as to explore new mobility strategies across the region.

According to Toyota, the expansion is aimed at achieving connectivity for Grab's rental car fleet across Southeast Asia, and at rolling out various connected services throughout the region that utilize vehicle data stored on Toyota's MSPF.

In addition, collaborations in driving-data-based automotive insurance, financial services for Grab drivers and maintenance services are also contemplated under the new partnership.

Through this new agreement, Toyota and Grab plan to shift into full-scale implementation of services they have been developing to customers in Southeast Asia.

The two companies will look for future collaborations aimed to achieve more-efficient ride-hailing businesses and for developing future mobility service solutions.

The agreement also states that a Toyota executive will be appointed to Grab's board of directors, and a dedicated Toyota team member will be seconded to Grab to as an executive officer.

Toyota and Grab have actually been working together since August 2017, developing connected services for Grab utilizing driving data collected by Toyota's TransLog data-transmission driving recorder.

The recorder, developed by Toyota for corporate fleets, has been installed in 100 Grab rental cars. The data collected is stored on Toyota's proprietary mobility services platform (MSPF), which serves as a form of information infrastructure for connected vehicles.

Both companies have already begun collaboration in the field of connected vehicles by, for example, providing driving-data-based automotive insurance for Grab's rental fleet in Singapore through local insurance companies.