Toyota invests half a billion dollars in Uber in self-driving car deal

Toyota has announced it is investing half a billion dollars in Uber. Both companies have agreed to implement their self-driving vehicle technologies in Toyota cars and aim to start a pilot program in 2021.

In an announcement, Toyota writes that the collaboration is “very important to realize self-driving technology on a large scale.” “Uber and Toyota anticipate that the mass-produced autonomous vehicles will be owned by jointly chosen fleet operators, who also manage the cars,” the Japanese company said. Uber says in its own announcement that this is a new business model. The companies have not announced which party will manage the fleet of self-driving cars.

Specifically, the plans mean that Sienna minivans will be equipped with Uber’s self-driving technology, in combination with Toyota’s so-called Guardian safety system. Gill Pratt, CEO of the Toyota Research Institute, said: “Uber’s automated driving system and Toyota’s Guardian system will independently monitor the vehicle’s environment and real-time situation, improving overall vehicle safety for both the automated driver and the vehicle. improved.” A pilot program within the Uber network is planned for 2021.

Uber’s development of self-driving cars has faced difficulties since a woman was killed in a collision with an autonomous Uber vehicle in the US state of Arizona, after which Uber temporarily halted its test drives. Reuters writes that the deal with Toyota is putting pressure on the company to start road testing again. According to an Uber CEO, the intention is to conduct these kinds of tests again by the end of this year. Before the accident, information came out that Toyota was negotiating with Uber.