Hyundai And Kia Invest $4.2m In New Korean Cab-calling App

Hyundai and Kia have invested 5 billion won ($4.27 million) into the South Korean cab chauffeur app Macaron Taxi, the companies have announced.

The companies, both under the Hyundai Motor Group, did not disclose how much of a stake of KST Mobility -- the company which runs the app -- was acquired from the investment.

Macaron Taxi launched this year in April to compete against existing cab apps KakaoTaxi and Tada. The company hires traditional cab drivers and gives them a salary.

See also: Kakao's taxi chauffeur service expands to Japan

KST Mobility said Macaron Taxi applies artificial intelligence (AI) and big data analytics for the app to make bookings more precise. It currently has a fleet of 200 cars, with Hyundai and Kia expected to supply it with more vehicles.

KST Mobility is estimated to have received a total of $10 million in funds so far.

Hyundai and Kia's biggest investment so far in car-sharing services has been to Southeast Asia's biggest provider, Grab, investing $250 million in November last year.

The Hyundai Motor has also invested an undisclosed amount into Chinese e-scooter-maker Immotor.

The South Korean auto-manufacturing giant has dubbed connected cars and mobility services as its future growth engines. It is currently collaborating with Cisco to deploy connected cars.

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