GrabWheels gets $30m for Southeast Asia EV rollout

Kymco is investing as part of an ongoing Series A round. GrabWheels is a portfolio company of its parent company’s VC arm and accelerator Grab Ventures.

The plan is to establish a two-wheeler EV business in Grab’s existing Southeast Asian markets by deploying Kymco-branded electric bikes and charging platforms. GrabWheels and Kymco will also collaborate on research into developing a shared two-wheeler EV service that meets licensing requirements across the region.

It follows a regulatory setback for GrabWheels in the form of new regulations from Singapore’s Land Transport Authority that prohibit the use of electric scooters on footpaths. Motorized stand-up scooters were previously the start-up’s focus. The new plan will use Kymco’s Ionex model, which is a full-sized, roadworthy moped with a seat.

"The transition toward electric vehicles is one of the most significant transformations of personal transportation for the next 10 years,” Allen Ko, chairman of Kymco, said in a statement. “This partnership represents the perfect match between the world’s largest two-wheeler transport service, Grab, and the world’s most advanced electric two-wheeler supplier, Kymco.”

In addition to Grab, Kymco supplies vehicles to Chinese ride-hailing leader Meituan-Dianping and Ele.me, a food delivery platform owned by Alibaba Group. The B2B model is in contrast to Kymco’s closest direct competitor, Gogoro, a Taiwanese scooter maker with a B2C approach that received a $300 million funding round led by Singapore’s Temasek Holdings in 2017. Gogoro is also targeting expansion in Southeast Asia.

It is not clear if Kymco Capital, a China-based VC affiliate of Kymco, is involved in the GrabWheels Series A. However, the investor revealed late last year that after about 10 years of focusing on Chinese automotive supply chains, it was increasing its focus on South and Southeast Asia. Partners in India include scooter rental platform Bounce, which raised a $105 million venture round last month, and ride-hailing player Ola, which raised $250 million last year for its EV agenda.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Cleantech
• Early-stage
• Singapore
• Grab
• Transportation