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Toyota to invest $1B in Asian ride-sharing company Grab

By Ed Adamczyk
Toyota will invest $1 billion in Southeast Asian ride-sharing company Grab, the Japanese automaker said Wednesday. File Photo by Brian Kersey/UPI
Toyota will invest $1 billion in Southeast Asian ride-sharing company Grab, the Japanese automaker said Wednesday. File Photo by Brian Kersey/UPI | License Photo

June 13 (UPI) -- Toyota said Wednesday it will invest $1 billion in Grab Holdings, a Southeast Asian ride-hailing company similar to Uber and Lyft.

The deal comes as Grab seeks a new round of funding. The ride-sharing company, which acquired Uber's business in Southeast Asia earlier this year, is now valued at $10 billion.

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For the investment, Toyota will receive a seat on Grab's board of directors, and the two companies will expand a collaboration started last year -- when the Japanese automaker put driving-data recorders, which are similar to flight recorders on commercial airlines, in Grab vehicles.

"The recorder, developed by Toyota for corporate fleets, has been installed in 100 Grab rental cars," Toyota said.

Singapore-based Grab has 100 million downloads of its ride-hailing app. It offers connections for rides, food delivery, mobile payments, on-demand bicycles and other services in 217 cities in eight Southeast Asian countries.

Grab called the deal the "largest-ever investment globally by an automotive manufacturer in the ride-hailing sector."

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