News >> Startups >>

Toyota On a Ride With Uber

Friday, 27 May 2016, 18:41 IST
By SiliconIndia
20
18
5




BENGALURU: Toyota Motor Corp and Uber have announced that they would join hands to explore ride-sharing space, which includes an investment by the Japanese carmaker in the on-demand ride company, the latest in a wave of high-profile collaborations between carmakers and ride-sharing services. Toyota and Uber will provide new leasing options in which car buyers can get their vehicles on lease from Toyota Financial Services and pay their payments through earnings generated as Uber drivers, the companies said in a joint statement.



The companies said they would be "sharing knowledge and accelerating their respective research efforts." Both Toyota and Uber are spending a lot on self-driving cars and other technology that connects travelers to different modes of conveyance.



Traditional and big automakers are leaving no stones unturned and trying their best to find ride-sharing partners as a response to the rush of technology companies such as Apple, Alphabet’s Google and private companies such as Uber, Lyft and others that are reshaping the global auto industry in a big way. German giant Volkswagen has also announced a $300 million investment in Gett, a smaller player in ride-sharing business.



Uber is putting big money in the development of autonomous technology, including mapping, while Toyota has been spending big by opening research labs in the United States, spending $1 billion through 2020 in research and development of artificial intelligence and robotics to help develop self-driving cars.



The Toyota-Uber partnership is not a surprise and it comes to the fore more than four months after General Motors’ $500 million investment in Lyft, Uber’s main competitor in the U.S. market, to develop and provide the users a chain of on-demand network of self-driving cars. More recently, Apple has announced that it would invest $1 billion in Chinese ride-sharing service Didi Chuxing, seen as a serious political move by the technology giant to make its presence felt in the crucial Chinese market.



Meanwhile, Ford Motor Co is also looking at partnerships to expand beyond manufacturing and selling cars, with Chairman Bill Ford saying on Monday that “you’ll hear more from us” as the year progresses.



Toyota is taking these decisions and making the strategic investment through its unit Toyota Financial Services Corporation and Mirai Creation Investment Limited Partnership.



Read Also:
Want to be a Part of Startups? Here Are Few Tips to Consider
Indian Startups Heading to Disrupt the Market by Raising Funds

Loading...