Toyota has just invested a hefty USD1 billion into ride-hailing company Grab and there is a firm reason for this, Toyota stands to gain a passenger-side view of tens of thousands of cars across Southeast Asia, tracking how fast they drive, how far they travel and the time they spend stuck in traffic.
Toyota Japan said it intends to install its TransLog driving recorder devices into Grab’s fleet of lease cars to access the data on driving patterns that will be crucial to its push into the mobility-as-a-service industry.
Grab already monitors driving behavior through its app to increase ride safety, sending emails about speed and braking, for instance, to its drivers. It will get even more vehicle data with Toyota, which has been harvesting data through TransLog since 2016 in sales and trials with taxi companies and car-hailing operators including Grab. The data give Toyota insight into fleet management as it develops services including futuristic concepts such as pay-per-use mobile restaurants.
