I swear, our geographical neighbours get the coolest things before we do – Grab has just announced, in collaboration with Hyundai, GrabCar Elektrik that will begin operations in Indonesia first.
GrabCar Elektrik is your regular e-hailing service, but electric vehicles (EV) instead. Hyundai’s role in here is providing 50 of their Ioniq EV cars to be used in the pilot service – which will take place around Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
Motorcycles are also not left out on the fun – for this, Astra Honda Motor and Gesits will provide the two-wheeled EVs for the initiative.
By the end of the year, it is reported that Grab aims to deploy 500 cars in the country – and to allow that, the Indonesian government is preparing industrial guidelines for the widespread adoption of EV public transportation.
This leaves us the questions of when and how EV e-hailing services will be implemented here in Malaysia. In the Klang Valley still, last-mile coverage is still an issue for many commuters – and e-hailing services have become the go-to option to get people to places. An armada of EV vehicles from Grab would do us and the environment a world of good, and we’re very much looking forward to it.