Image: GrabIn Thailand, Grab has announced that more than 30,000 drivers and riders on its platform now provide passenger transport and food/goods delivery services using EVs. The company is also witnessing growing adoption of EVs on the consumer side.In the first quarter of the year, Grab recorded a 35 per cent year-on-year increase in the number of users in Thailand choosing the Grab EV Ride feature. The company said that it is accelerating its Grab EV project aimed at encouraging its service providers to transition to electric and other eco-friendly vehicles.“Given the tense situation in the Middle East, which has led to volatile and continuously rising oil prices, reflecting cost challenges for the travel and transportation industry, Grab, as a leading ride-hailing and delivery platform with hundreds of thousands of drivers in Thailand, is accelerating its Grab EV project,” said Grab Thailand Managing Director Chantsuda Thananitayaudom.Grab recently partnered with nine companies in Thailand to make EVs more accessible for its riders and drivers. Under a “Rent Everything on the App” programme, five of these new partners are offering electric taxi rentals for passenger transport at as low as 800 baht (21.39 euros) per day. Another new partner offers electric two-wheeler rentals for delivery operations, starting at 125 baht (3.34 euros) per day.Under a “Drive and Pay in Instalments” programme, two new partners are offering loans for electric cars based on service history, with daily instalments starting at 600 baht (16.05 euros) over a five-year term. The programme includes Class 1 insurance, free scheduled maintenance, an 8-year/600,000 km extended battery warranty, and four free tyre replacements per year throughout the term.Another new partner offers financing for electric two-wheelers, with daily instalments starting at 105 baht (2.81 euros) over a two- to three-year term. The scheme includes a one-time free replacement of both tyres and four sets of brake pads.In the Philippines, Grab says that operators have deployed hundreds of hybrid and electric taxis on the Grab app. The sharp rise in fuel prices is accelerating the adoption of electrified vehicles. According to a recent report from ABS-CBN, fuel prices in the country have more than doubled since the end of February when the war in Iran started. Operators say that electric taxis were already delivering savings of 75 per cent to 87 per cent per kilometre in running costs before fuel prices started rising sharply.grab.com (Thailand), grab.com (Philippines), abs-cbn.com