Hyperdrive

Toyota Pours $1 Billion Into Ride Hailing to Keep Pace With GM

Grab deal is carmaker’s biggest bet on car-hailing services
CEO Toyoda seeking to morph auto giant into services provider

Bloomberg’s Gearoid Reidy reports on Toyota agreeing to invest $1 billion in Grab.(Source: Bloomberg)

Provide news feedback or report an error

Confidential tip?

Send a tip to our reporters

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

By Kevin Buckland and Yoolim Lee

June 13, 2018 at 2:11 AM UTC

Updated on

June 13, 2018 at 10:28 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Toyota Motor Corp. is making the largest ever bet by an automaker on ride hailing as it embraces new businesses that threaten to disrupt the industry’s traditional model of vehicle ownership.

The world’s most profitable car manufacturer is investing $1 billion in Singapore’s Grab Holdings Inc., valuing Southeast Asia’s largest car-hailing service at just over $10 billion, according to a person familiar with the transaction. It follows an initial investment last year through Toyota’s trading arm in the company that forced Uber Technologies Inc. out of the region.