Two-wheeled vehicle manufacturer Kymco has supplied $30m in series A funding for GrabWheels, the mobility-focused subsidiary of Singapore-based on-demand ride service Grab, e27 reported yesterday.
Grab operates a ride hailing service spanning 500 cities and towns in Southeast Asia and has expanded into areas such as mobile payment. GrabWheels represents its entry into the electric scooter rental market.
Users can book the service through the Grab app. It is available in Indonesia but has been suspended in Singapore after local authorities prohibited the use of electric scooters on public thoroughfares.
The investment was made as part of a collaboration agreement through which Grab and Kymco intend to explore the possibility of integrating the latter’s Ionex electric bikes and charging infrastructure into the GrabWheels service.
Kymco chairman Allen Ko said: “The transition toward electric vehicles is one of the most significant transformations of personal transportation for the next 10 years. Accelerating this transition, Kymco Ionex is the [electric vehicle] turnkey solution that empowers all businesses and governments to go electric.”
Chris Yeo, head of Grab’s corporate venturing unit, Grab Ventures, added: “This joint effort underscores our commitment to work with strategic partners and local governments to bring about a safer and more environmentally sustainable transport network.”
Photo courtesy of Grab.
