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Hyundai Hikes Investment in Grab, Plans EV Fleet

Hyundai Motor Co. is investing an additional $250 million into ride-share service Grab Taxi Holdings Pte Ltd. and will launch an electric-car test with the company in Singapore next year.
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Hyundai Motor Co. and its Kia Motors affiliate are investing an additional $250 million into ride-share service Grab Taxi Holdings Pte Ltd. and will launch an electric-car test with the company in Singapore next year.

Hyundai will contribute $175 million of the investment, and Kia will provide $75 million, according to The Nikkei.

Hyundai acquired a $25 million stake in the 6-year-old company in January. Its latest investment raises Grab’s total funding to $2.7 billion and widens the partnership between the two companies. Grab hopes to reach $3 billion in funding by year-end.

Youngcho Chi, Hyundai’s chief innovation officer, tells Bloomberg News the fleet of as many as 200 EVs will be used to collect consumer usage and vehicle operation data. Rivals DiDi Chuxing and Uber have taken similar steps previously to deploy EVs.

Hyundai has eschewed piston-powered vehicles for all-electric powertrains in vehicles it is promoting for mobility services. The carmaker plans to launch its own car-sharing service in 2019.

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