Grab, the prominent ride-hailing service giant, has recently announced a partnership with Yoma Strategic Holdings, a leading corporation across the heavy equipment and automotive & transportation industry in Myanmar. Reportedly, the partnership is likely to provide Grab’s drivers with vehicle leasing and financing options in the country.
According to experts, the deal is anticipated to have a substantial impact on the country’s automotive & transportation industry, as it supports the recently launched GrabTaxi Plus services by the ride-hailing firm. This service is expected to improve the overall taxi standards, efficiency, and safety, in turn enhance passenger experience.
Reports reveal that the partnership between Yoma Strategic and Grab is an extension of the latter’s vision of providing local passengers with access to better quality vehicles. A news statement noted that there are approximately 70,000 taxis in Yangon that require upgradation to new car models with better and regular maintenance services.
For those who are unfamiliar, Grab is a leading on-demand transportation & mobile payments platform of Southeast Asia. The company forayed into the emerging Myanmar automotive & transportation industry last year in March 2017. It has recently added two services in its portfolio – Grab for Business and GrabTaxi Plus for the corporate and driver class respectively.
Experts speculate that the Yoma deal is certain to support in expansion of both of these services in Myanmar. For the record, the company presently operates its ride-hailing app services in around 178 cities, chiefly across Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
According to The Business Time, Grab’s head of regional operations, Russell Cohen, was quoted stating that the company is looking forward to join forces with Yoma to improve its transportation and rapidly meet the rising user demand by enhancing its rental and leasing car options for its valued GrabTaxi service drivers.