TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Toyota Motor Corporation will invest US$1 billion or some Rp13 trillion to Grab Holdings Inc., a Singapore-based travel service provider. Motoki Yanase, senior vice president of credit officer, corporate finance at Moody's Japan made the announcement on Monday 18 June through a written statement.

This step is considered positive for Toyota in extending its partnerships in Southeast Asia.

Toyota announced its investment plan in Grab on Wednesday, June 3. The deal is expected to enhance Toyota's performance in the passenger services sector, which is rapidly changing the traditional business models in car manufacturing.

Grab will benefit from Toyota's ability to collects and store data, which will extend the connectivity among Grab's rental car fleets throughout Southeast Asia. The data will help Grab launch new services for drivers, including automotive insurance, car rental and vehicle maintenance.

"This collaboration complements Toyota's existing alliance with global travel service providers, including Uber Technologies Inc. and JapanTaxi Co., Ltd.—the provider of app-based provider in Japan," Yanase said.

Toyota's first investment in Grab was made in 2017 for an unknown sum through Toyota Tsusho Corp. Another Japanese automaker, Honda Motor Co. Ltd. also injected some funds into Grab by December 2016.

Additionally, SoftBank Group Corp also invests into Uber, Grab and other application-based passenger service companies; China's Didi Chuxiing and India's Ola Cabs.

Bisnis.com