Toyota invests $500m in Uber as part of autonomous vehicle partnership
Toyota is investing $500 million in ride-sharing giant Uber for the development of self-driving vehicle technologies as part of a wider partnership between the pair, the companies announced on Monday.
Toyota said Uber will be integrating its self-driving technology with its own automated safety support system, Toyota Guardian, for purpose-built vehicles for deployment on Uber's network, beginning with pilots in 2021.
Toyota said the partnership -- for which talks reportedly began as far back as March -- aims to bring autonomous ride sharing as a mobility service to market, and marks a milestone in Toyota's "transformation to a mobility company".
"The deal is the first of its kind for Uber, and signals our commitment to bringing world-class technologies to the Uber network," said Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. "Our goal is to deploy the world's safest self-driving cars on the Uber network, and this agreement is another step towards making that a reality.
"Uber's advanced technology and Toyota's commitment to safety and its renowned manufacturing prowess make this partnership a natural fit."
The resulting autonomous vehicle fleet, dubbed "Autono-MaaS" or autonomous mobility as a service, will be based on the platform for Toyota's Sienna minivan, and will include integrated support for Toyota Guardian and Uber's self-driving platform. Toyota said it will also use its mobility services information infrastructure platform for the connected vehicles.
Uber's self-driving technology also includes LIDAR laser scanning and sensor systems, mapping capabilities, and data collection.
Back in March, Uber halted its self-driving car tests in every US city after a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona, was killed by an Uber car operating in autonomous mode.
Tempe police said the car had a human safety driver at the wheel when it struck the pedestrian, according to a report from The New York Times.
The company later announced that it would resume testing its self-driving cars in Pittsburgh -- but in manual mode, with a human driver always in control.
Uber brought an end to its self-driving trucks division last month to focus exclusively on building its own self-driving passenger car technology.
Toyota, meanwhile, formed a $2.8 billion autonomous vehicle research venture back in March to accelerate research and development of "fully-integrated, production-quality software for automated driving".
The automaker is also investing heavily in electric vehicles, and plans to have at least 10 commercially available by 2020.
PREVIOUS AND RELATED COVERAGE
<="" p="" rel="follow">
- <="" p="" rel="follow"> <="" p="" rel="follow">
<="" p="" rel="follow">
<="" p="" rel="follow"> <="" p="" rel="follow">Didi Chuxing suspends Hitch service after passenger murder
Ride-sharing company Didi Chuxing has put its Hitch service on hold in China, following the murder of a passenger in Wenzhou on Friday.
Uber, Toyota seek self-driving car tech deal
Uber wants to become a provider of self-driving technologies for automakers including Toyota.
Toyota to form $2.8 billion autonomous vehicle research venture
The new joint venture will focus on self-driving technology development.
Uber acquires electric bike-sharing firm Jump
Dockless bicycles, rather than cars, are at the heart of Uber's latest purchase.
Uber's CEO: A guiding star or a nice man in an ad?
Uber decides to have its CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, front its new ad campaign. Will customers and drivers warm to this approach?
Uber settles Waymo lawsuit over stolen trade secrets
Updated: Autonomous driving levels 0 to 5: Understanding the differences(TechRepublic)
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration adopted the Society of Automotive Engineers' levels for automated driving systems, ranging from complete driver control to full autonomy.