INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Grab, the ride-hailing company that consumed Uber business in Southeast Asia, today made a big push to grow the number of electric vehicles
in its fleet afterit partnered with energy supplier Singapore Power.
The deal will see Grab add 200 new ‘fast-charging& EVs to its fleet
in Singapore with SP providing &preferential& pricing at the organization charging stations
Grab said drivers who opt for an EV — which will be &progressively rolled out& from early 2019 — can expect to increase their earnings
by as much as 25 percent over drivers using petrol engines thanks to SP ‘mates& rate.
The partnership with SP is important to Grab because
infrastructure such as charging stations and cost savings are crucial to persuadingthe most active car drivers to make a move to electric
Ride-sharing drivers certainly rank in the group that can make a difference.
SP has committed to operating 500 charging stations by 2020,
which would become Singapore largestof its kind
An initial 30 are expected to be up and running before the end of this year and, when ready, Grab said they will charge its upcoming EV
Each charge would allow400km of driving, the company added.
Grab said it has a number EVs within in its Singapore fleet today — it
declined to disclose numbers but claimed it is ''the largest electric and hybrid vehicle fleet in Southeast Asia& — but these charging
stations and the potential to earn additional income are sure to help boost that number, whatever it may be.
This initiative applies to
Singapore, but a Grab spokesperson told TechCrunch that the company intends to expand its EV fleet regionally in due time
The company didn''t provide any specifics on that plan, however.
Grab operates in seven countries in Southeast Asia, but Singapore is the
most advanced in terms of EV infrastructure
The company recently raised $2 billion from Toyota and others.It acquired Uber regional business in Marchand today it claims over 100
million downloads with more than two billion rides completed to date.Grab recently claimedits annual revenue run rate has surpassed $1
billion, but it has notprovided profit or loss numbers.
Outside of electric,Grab has previously forayed into self-driving vehicles through a
partnership with Nutonomy
That relationship appears to have ended after Nutonomy was acquired by auto firm Delphi last year
A month before that deal, Grab made an investment in another self-driving car startup, Drive.ai, which said it planned to open an office in
