Today (11/7) Grab announced new investment worth of $250 million (around 3.7 trillion rupiah) from Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Corporation. This investment has initiated a partnership among those three to start the initiative for electric vehicle development in Southeast Asia. It is Grab’s advanced step to raise funding up to $3 billion by the end of 2018.

Grab, Hyundai, and Kia will launch a series of electric vehicles trials start from Singapore next year. It’s focused on the use of electric vehicles to maximize cost efficiency for Grab drivers. The partnership will also involve regional stakeholders, include the government and industry players in the area, such as building a fast-charging center network.

“As a home to one of the fastest growing consumers in the world, Southeast Asia is considered as a rapid growth market for electric cars. Having unbeatable track record, Grab is the best partner to help electric vehicles adoption in Southeast Asia,” Youngcho Chi, Hyundai Motor Group’s Chief Innovation Officer, said.

The partnership will be focused on presenting electric vehicle maintenance solutions. Therefore, they also plan some research activities for optimization in adjusting climate in Southeast Asia.

“As an owner of the largest electric vehicle group, we are very excited to build a partnership with Hyundai Motor Group in supporting electric vehicle adoption throughout Southeast Asia. We have the same vision about mobility electrification as a key to build an environment-friendly transportation platform with low cost,” Ming Maa, Grab’s President explained.

Last week, Grab has just announced $200 million (worth 3 trillion rupiah) funding from Booking Holdings. Using big capital, Grab wants to make a “super app” platform. It does not only work as a transportation provider but also make benefits for other business models, one of those through GrabPay.

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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian