Toyota grabs ride-hailing share
- August 31, 2017
- Posted by: Alan Feldberg
- Category: Industry News
Toyota Motor Corp’s trading arm is the latest participant in ride-hailing firm Grab’s current financing round expected to raise $2.5bn.
Led by Chinese peer Didi Chuxing and Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp, Reuters reports that Toyota Tsusho Corp, in which Toyota Motor is the biggest stakeholder, has invested an undisclosed sum in the business.
Toyota Motor said it would install its driving recorder devices in vehicles operated by Grab, as the automaker expands further into new driving services.
Under a pilot program, Toyota will have its TransLog device installed in 100 rental cars operated by Singapore-based Grab, enabling the companies to analyse driving patterns as well as offer improved access to connected car services.
Didi and SoftBank are already investors in Grab and other ride-hailing services globally. In July, Grab said the pair would add $2bn and that $500m would come from others, making the fundraising Southeast Asia’s biggest-ever single round of financing.
Grab operates private car, motorcycle, taxi and carpooling services across seven countries with 1.2 million drivers.
