BYD and Grab has put pen to paper on a regional partnership that will see up to 50,000 EVs be made accessible to Grab’s driver-partners in Southeast Asia in an eco-friendly ride bid.
The move will see Grab’s driver-partners as well as fleet partners gain access to BYD EVs, with extended battery warranties, at a competitive rate.
Drivers will have two options with this agreement. The first will be to rent the BYD EVs via Grab’s fleet partners, while the second is to outright purchase the EV by opting for financing support through Grab’s car ownership scheme.
As for users of the Grab app in Singapore or Thailand, you can toggle the ‘Eco-Friendly Ride’ option on the screen that will prioritise allocating a green vehicle. Unfortunately, Malaysians won’t be able to access this feature just yet.
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The partnership between BYD and Grab will include the Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines markets. BYD’s contribution will come in a range of models including the BYD Atto 3, BYD Seal and BYD M6 while it’s premium Denza marque will see the luxury seven-seater Denza D9 MPV be used for the GrabExec.
From a technological perspective, both parties will collaborate on deep IoT integration between the Grab app and BYD’s vehicle platform. Drivers will be able to access the Grab app via BYD’s large infotainment screens instead of having to look at the phone, as is the case currently.
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Furthermore, Grab will have real-time access to sensor and telemetry from the EVs to gather data on drivers’ behaviours and patterns. This can then be used to guide the drivers towards improved safety and efficiency.
Even data such as wiper signals and travel speed will be accessible to them in real-time and feeding this into their algorithm will allow for more accurate prediction of weather and traffic. Grab’s hyperlocal map data will be of great use to both parties, improving efficiency for each journey and continuously increasing the accuracy of the map.
