Bangkok April-May 2022

GRAB THAILAND ANNOUNCES 5-YEAR GOAL FOR EVS
Grab Thailand announces
its ambitious goal in supporting
the government in promoting
the adoption of EVs
among its driver- and delivery-partners
by targeting 10%
of vehicles providing ride-hailing
and on-demand delivery
services on the platform are
electric vehicles (EVs) by
2026. The company is currently
in the plan to discuss
with manufacturers, distributors,
and charging stations to
drive the use of EVs among
driver-partners, as well as,
partnering with financial institutions
to support their financial
planning and loan
services. Under this initiative,
Grab Thailand will cooperate
with the public sector to raise
public awareness and promote
a better understanding
of EVs and its benefits among
driver-partners as to support
the government's joining forces
with the ASEAN countries
in driving green energy and
reducing the greenhouse gas
emissions in the region.
Worachat Luxkanalode,
Executive Director of Grab
Thailand, said, "Climate
change can have extensive
intergenerational impact on
the well-being and livelihoods
of communities everywhere.
To minimize environmental
footprint, there is a need to
reduce dependence and usage
of fossil fuel and encourage
usage of renewable energy
and low carbon technology
and innovation. With the cutting-edge
advances in technology,
electric vehicles (EV)
have now become the new
and popular choice for many
people across the nation. To
drive the country towards
the EV society is one of the
key strategies and indeed, a
national agenda for the government
to help address the
issues of fuel price hikes and
global warming sustainably."
"As a platform provider,
Grab Thailand has always
placed our concern on the
importance of environmental
issues. We have been initiating
various projects and
activities to support the use
of clean energy, while minimizing
the environmental impact
from the services such
as launching the pilot projects
to encourage the use of
electric motorcycles in providing
food delivery services
among our driver-partners
and the feature launched
that encourages users to
participate in the carbon offset
program allowing them
to donate for reforestation
programme. To reinforce our
commitment in promoting environmental
sustainability this
year, Grab Thailand is eager
to announce our 5-year goal
[2022-2026] to further support
the adoption of electric
vehicles. We aim to increase
the number of driver-partners
driving electric vehicles (EV),
targeting 10% of the total
driver-partners within 5 years.
This initiative is aimed at supporting
the government policy
in driving the clean energy
and reducing the greenhouse
gas emissions in the region."
To achieve our goal, Grab
Thailand will focus on three
key activities as follow:
• Exploring opportunities to
collaborate with electric vehicle
manufacturers and distributors
in providing electric cars
and motorcycles that match
the needs of driver- and delivery-partners,
as well as,
promoting for the vehicle pilot
program and joint education
campaigns. The partnership
will also extend to related
service providers such as the
electric vehicle charging stations
and its charging system
management to encourage
the use of electric vehicles
more efficiently.
• Partnership with financial
institutions to help provide
financial planning or loan
services with special interest
rates and daily repayments.
This is to encourage more
interest and help reduce the
debt burden for freelance
workers or those who may not
have access to the financial
system.
• Cooperation with the public
sector to promote a better
understanding of electric vehicles
among driver- and delivery-partners,
especially in
terms of economic, social,
and environmental benefits,
as well as, sharing related
trends and technology to
raise their awareness and acceptance
which, in turn, leading
to more trials and words
spread.
"This long-term goal announcement
of Grab Thailand
in promoting the use of electric
vehicles is just the first
steppingstone that reflects
our dedication to helping address
environmental issues
and promotes sustainability
goals, which is also a part of
our GrabForGood mission to
support and uplift the quality
of life for the people in the
society. Grab is ready to be
another driving force in raising
public awareness and encouraging
the use of green
energy in our business ecosystem.
We are in full support
to cooperate with the public
sector to drive and achieve
the national agenda on the
electric vehicle as planned."
Worachat concluded.