Grab is helping to increase the adoption of electric vehicles and make them commercially viable – Wired PR Lifestyle Story

Singapore has spoken out strongly about its electrification plans, plans to set up 60,000 EV charging points across the island and the government to extend various subsidies to encourage EV adoption.

As Singapore seeks to eliminate gasoline cars in the next two decades, many transportation companies have announced plans to move up to the EV band.

Where is the giant Grab ride located on this spectrum and how exactly is it helping the EV national agenda?

In early July, Grab announced his Transport Sustainability Goal, Committing to exploiting the entire fleet running cleaner energy by 2030.

The Singapore-based company has also launched a series of initiatives in line with the Singapore 2030 Green Plan, which aims to provide a roadmap for electric vehicles (EVs) and all vehicles by 2040 with greener energy.

Grab provides three steps to greener energy

In an email to Vulcan Post, Andrew Chan, Grab Singapore’s managing director of transport, said reducing carbon emissions is the company’s first step.

“We have already invested more than $ 200 million to increase the number of electric and hybrid vehicles in our car rental fleet in Singapore and we will continue to do so,” he said.

In line with this, Grab also launched a JustGrab Green pilot in July 2021, which is supplied by a fleet of electric or hybrid vehicles with a minimum VES A2 band. Some cars are Hyundai Kona Electric, Toyota Prius and Kia Niro Hybrid.

This new feature basically allows cyclists to add S $ 0.10 to their fare to help reduce carbon footprint in green projects.

He mentioned that the carbon emissions of a hybrid or electric vehicle can be reduced by approximately 55 percent compared to a conventional gasoline vehicle.

According to Andrew, the response from consumers has been gratifying with the “healthy mix” of new and existing passengers testing the function so far.

Since its launch, Grab’s weekly selected trips have grown by more than 400 percent, and the unique number of passengers who have chosen this feature has also grown nearly sixfold.

“We will continue to explore innovative ways to encourage travelers to consider this carbon offsetting feature when booking a trip. In addition, the app’s UX and UI iterations will also be made to improve the visibility of new programs as well as ease of choosing them,” he added.

The second step that Grab is taking is to neutralize carbon emissions with the launch of the Green Program. The full contribution of this program will go to carbon offsetting and solarization projects in Singapore and the region.

On the one hand, Grab is partnering with Sembcorp Industries to support the roofing talks of Singapore community organizations. This partnership includes the joint identification of solar projects between the two companies, and Sembcorp will help develop, operate and maintain solar systems.

He is also working with Grab Shell to buy the carbon credits generated from the Katingan Mentaya project in Indonesia.

The project restores natural forests and conserves peatland habitats, preventing greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 447 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over the course of 60 years. The project also helps local communities create jobs, improve soil quality and food production.

Finally, Grab is stepping up his education and advocacy efforts.

“We are constantly promoting greater awareness among our consumers of issues related to sustainability and exploring different ways to adopt green programs,” he said.

How Grab Facilitates EV Transition for Grab Drivers

Andrew admitted that Grab had raised a number of concerns with his driving partners about EVs, such as “high costs, lack of parking space and long wait times for charging.”

They also had initial concerns about the district’s anxiety, although since then this has been “quickly calmed down” as drivers began to use electric vehicles and use breaks and use fast charging options, he added.

As Singapore is a small country, he stressed that district anxiety is not a major issue. Instead, driver partners are more concerned about when they need a charging station or not finding the length of time they need to charge a vehicle.

That’s why Grab has taken a “proactive approach” to informing and educating his driving partner about the benefits of EVs through app notifications.

“30 minutes of loading time is enough to drive a full day (and) when fully loaded, the driver can do about 400 kilometers, which is approximately 10 full marathons, or 10 trips to Changi Airport between Jurong West,” he said. .

Grab is currently exploring various options to make EVs commercially viable in the long term, such as business partnerships and government commitments.

Grab and Hyundai Motor Group have expanded their partnership to accelerate the reception of EVs in the region.

They are considering testing new EV business models, such as battery service and EV financing, although Andrew declined to share further details on this.

Grab will also develop new pilots and initiatives that will reduce barriers to entry for Grab drivers and delivery partners to take on electric vehicles, such as reducing the total cost of ownership and reducing anxiety in the range.

In addition, the two companies will explore collaboration on new business opportunities and technologies, such as smart city solutions.

“We have worked closely with various government agencies and the union (as well) to share our ideas and provide support whenever possible. Grab is aware that the National Electric Vehicle Center (NEVC) will encourage efforts to increase the adoption of electric vehicles, and we are talking to the Singapore EV ecosystem to contribute to our knowledge to establish a strong “.

Beyond the NEVC, Grab has close relationships with a number of authorities, including the Ministry of Transport, the Land Transport Authority and the National Association of Private Rental Vehicles, to offer their views and support wherever possible.

“The transition to EVs is a team effort and requires collaboration between key actors, including the government, cargo infrastructure providers, property owners, travel companies and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs),” Andrew said.

More can be done to increase EV adoption

Electric vehicles no longer matter when, but we need to be willing to take it.

Andrew stressed that a couple of things need to be done first and foremost for Singapore to increase its adoption of electric vehicles.

In addition to expanding the network of EV charging points, expanding educational campaigns and collaborating with the aforementioned trade and public sector, Grab is also improving incentive programs for its P2P drivers.

For example, driver partners who rent an electric vehicle through GrabRentals will have a great discount on the rental cost.

In addition, Grab’s private rental car drivers can also enjoy a preferential discount at the SP Group’s EV charging stations.

Grab also wants to expand the cost of the battery and innovative solutions that can help decouple the vehicle.

It is one as a battery service, but other areas need to be explored as well, e.g. The “second life” market for car batteries and the market for the recycling of material components used in batteries, Andrew said.

Although Grab has no specific plans to venture into these areas at this time, it could be a viable business plan in the future as it seeks to strengthen its EV commitment in Singapore and across the region.

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Featured Image Credit: Grab