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This
is the latest tie-up of its kind in the auto industry, where
carmakers such as Volkswagen <VOWG_p.DE>, Toyota Motor Corp and
General Motors have also struck deals with ride-sharing firms to
hedge against a shift in the vehicle market away from private
ownership.
Grab, the biggest rival to ride-sharing service Uber
Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] in Southeast Asia, said Honda had
agreed to invest an undisclosed amount in the firm, and the two
would form a partnership to develop the ride-sharing technology
and related driver education programs.
The Honda investment is a part of the $750 million funding
announced in September, said Ming Maa, president at Grab, which
provides services such as taxi and motorbike-hailing,
car-pooling, delivery and mobile payments.
"We are in the planning stages on exactly what a full
partnership will look like, and there are many different prongs
of that. One prong would obviously include selling Honda
motorbikes within the region," Maa told Reuters.
"We would welcome expanding the partnership to four-wheeled
(vehicles)," said Maa, who joined Grab in October from Japan's
SoftBank Group Corp - an investor in Grab.
The September funding round values Grab at more than $3 billion,
according to a source familiar with the matter.
While the deal with Honda is the first one it has signed with an
automaker, Maa said Grab was also talking with other vehicle
manufacturers for partnerships that will help reduce traffic and
increase safety.
Monday's announcement comes just two weeks after Grab said
Japanese financial services company Tokyo Century Corp had made
a strategic investment in the firm for an undisclosed amount.
Investors in Grab include China Investment Corp, Chinese
ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing and Vertex Ventures, a part of
Singapore state investor state investor Temasek Holdings[TEM.UL].
When asked whether the Grab partnership could influence Honda's
vehicle designs to adapt to ride-sharing, Maa said: "anything is
possible".
(Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
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