Japanese carmaker Toyota is to invest $500m (£387m) in Uber and expand a partnership to jointly develop self-driving cars.
The aim of the partnership is to use technology from both companies in purpose-built Toyota cars to be deployed across Uber’s ride-sharing network from 2021.
The firm said this would involve the “mass-production” of autonomous vehicles that would be deployed on Uber’s ridesharing network.
It is being viewed as a way for both firms to catch up with rivals in the competitive driverless car market.
A Toyota official said the company would continue its research into self-driving technology, and that it would not combine its research efforts with Uber.
Previously, Uber and Toyota partnered on an electric mobility project. Two years ago, Toyota invested an undisclosed sum in Uber and the two companies partnered on a car-leasing program for Uber drivers.
[source_without_link]SIASAT NEWS[/source_without_link]