ASEAN cities are notorious for their traffic. A 2019 report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), found that cities in the Philippines, Malaysia and Myanmar are among the most congested, and congestion is costing governments millions of dollars daily.
Since its launch in 2010, Go-Jek has grown rapidly in Indonesia, a country that is home to more than 250 million inhabitants. Now, as the nation’s first and biggest unicorn looks beyond its shores, things are about to change.
When pioneer of the ride-hailing business, Uber announced that it will exit the Southeast Asian market, consumers feared that this would effectively mean a Grab monopoly in the market. However, ever since Uber’s exit, many new startups have entered the ride-hailing business looking to fill the gap left by Uber. Throughout the region, new ride-hailing apps are mushrooming.
Grab first started out as MyTeksi in Malaysia. Its founder Anthony Tan started the business to improve on the poor state of the existing taxi system here, and to provide better security for women, whenever they used public transport. Grab’s initial strategy to use technology to overcome these issues has since proven itself across still-developing Southeast Asia. As of 2017 the company holds 72% of market share in private vehicle hailing across a total of 156 cities in the region.
Autonomous cars have been all the rage in recent years.Car manufacturers like Audi have made developments in autonomous cars a big part of their marketing push. It’s not hard to see why, considering how drastically the technology could affect one the world’s most fundamental experiences: driving. Since Henry Ford first made driving affordable in 1908, a key part of the driving experience has been the requirement for a human driver.
Much ado about the 31st ASEAN SummitThe highlight for this week was the conclusion of the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Meetings which began last week.
The two titans of ride-sharing, home-grown Grab and American import Uber, have been doing battle for a few years. They have become fierce rivals and though Grab has taken a lead in Southeast Asia, Uber will likely not go down without a fight.There’s a good reason to stay and fight. The ride-sharing market in Southeast Asia is projected to be worth 13.1 billion dollars by 2025.
