Grab has announced a new partnership with BYD to help increase the usage of green vehicles among its customers across Southeast Asia. Signed in mid-December, the new collaboration also aims to provide driver-partners with access to up to 50,000 BYD across the region including Malaysia.
However, Grab did not reveal when exactly will it launch an EV-specific e-hailing service in our market. The company has been offering such service over the years in selected markets such as Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand.
Grab to utilise BYD and Denza EVs
Grab and BYD have earmarked several EV models that will be featured under the new effort which include the Atto 3, Seal, and M6. Surprisingly enough, they will also rope in the luxury 7-seater electric MPV, the Denza D9.
According to Grab, the company is planning to utilise Denza D9 as part of its GrabExec fleet. In Malaysia, the nearest we have to GrabExec is the Grab Premium|Exec but as Denza is not yet launched in Malaysia, it is unknown at the moment whether this plan will apply to our market or otherwise.
The new partnership is also aiming to address the high upfront cost of EV adoption. While today’s announcement did not provide specific details, it did say Grab driver-partners will be able to obtain BYD EVs at the “most competitive rates,”.
They can choose to rent the BYD EVs from Grab fleet partners or obtain financing support via the Grab car ownership scheme. On top of that, Grab driver-partners will also be provided with extended warranties for the high-voltage battery on these BYD EVs.
Grab-BYD partnership will also cover app, sensor, and telemetry integration
Meanwhile, Grab and BYD also said that this partnership is not just about bringing more EVs into the road. The new collaboration will also involve technology integration between both companies.
For one, the Grab driver app will be integrated directly into the infotainment screens of BYD EVs. This way, drivers can use the app on a much larger screen to check their jobs, and messages, or navigate around.
They will also integrate real-time sensor, telemetry, and location data directly from BYD EVs with Grab’s backend system to improve its precision and reliability. For example, the wiper signal and travel speed of the BYD EVs will be used to indicate weather and traffic conditions, respectively.
In terms of the bigger picture, BYD aims to leverage Grab’s map data and services to help improve the experience for BYD drivers in general. Grab will use the road and traffic data from the BYD EVs to enhance its mapping services.
