Hyundai Motor Co. again invested in Southeast Asian ride-hailing startup Grab Taxi Pte. Ltd. today to the tune of $250 million as part of a push to roll out electric vehicles.

The South Korean carmaker last invested in Grab in January as part of a deal that saw both companies agreeing to explore ways to develop and provide innovative services to Southeast Asian customers, including a new mobility service platform that will use Hyundai’s eco-friendly models such as the IONIQ Electric.

Hyundai’s stake in Grab is smaller than that of Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor Co., which invested $1 billion into the company in June. But Reuters noted that the investment is Hyundai’s biggest ever in an auto technology firm and underscores a shift in strategy at a company that has typically shunned partnerships in favor of developing its own technologies.

As part of the new investment, Hyundai and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. will launch a pilot electric vehicle project in 2019 starting in Singapore with 200 electric vehicles leased to Grab drivers.

“Not only Hyundai, but all global auto manufacturers have realized that generating revenue solely from selling vehicles is not a sustainable, viable option,” Hyundai Chief Innovation Officer Chi Young-cho is reported to have said at a media event. “It is better to disrupt than being disrupted,” he added.

Hyundai isn’t well-represented in Southeast Asia and it has been previously speculated that part of its interest in Grab may be related to its intention to build a car plant in the region, possibly in Indonesia or Vietnam. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations heavily taxes imported vehicles, making cars manufactured outside the region often prohibitively expensive.

Major manufacturers in the region, primarily based in Thailand, include Toyota, Honda Motor Co. Ltd., Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co., Nissan Motor Co. and Daimler AG.

Grab acquired Uber Technologies Inc.’s business in the region in March in return for Uber taking 27.5 percent stake in the company.

Including the new round, Crunchbase suggested that Grab has now raised $6.3 billion in total, although given that the amount of some rounds were never officially disclosed, the actual amount may be somewhat higher.

Photo: Duncan Riley