Toyota Financial Services (TFS) and its insurance partner announced they had "made a significant investment" in the Finnish company MaaS Global.
MaaS Global was established in April 2016 to provide multi-modal transportation services.
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Through its Whim app, it enables customers to purchase a monthly subscription package that is tailored to their transportation needs (currently this includes public transport, e-hailing and car rental). The app is already operating in Helsinki with plans this year to expand to three other major cities in Europe and then expand to other cities around the globe.
TFS is investing to explore a co-operation model for multi-modal mobility solutions, including the necessary technology. TFS will help MaaS Global accelerate market entry and build a long term and loyal customer base.
"We are very pleased to partner with MaaS Global and work together on the development of multi-modal mobility solutions. The vision and business model of MaaS Global marries with Toyota's strategic objective to serve the mobility needs of our current and future customers," said TFS CEO Inuzuka.
"We are really excited to start working with Toyota, and the opportunities our collaboration will bring. We at MaaS Global admire the dedication of Toyota to customer and quality and want to bring the same experience to digital era with our Whim app," added Sampo Hietanen, CEO and founder of MaaS Global.
TFS, wholly owned by Toyota Motor Corporation, was established in July 2000 as a holding company of Toyota's financial subsidiaires worldwide.
MaaS Global is a Finnish start-up established in April 2016. In addition to Toyota, current investors include Transdev, Karsan Otomotiv Sanayii and Ticaret and Veho Oy.
