Toyota invests in Uber to launch ride-sharing partnership
Car giant Toyota is set to invest in taxi app Uber to launch a ride-sharing venture.
The Japanese carmaker will offer new buyers leasing options wherein they can lease their vehicles from Toyota Financial Services and cover their payments through earnings generated as Uber drivers.
Terms of the partnership haven’t been revealed. However, Toyota said that the companies have “entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore collaboration, starting with trials, in the world of ride-sharing in countries where rides-sharing is expanding”.
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Shigeki Tomoyama, senior managing officer of Toyota Motor Corporation, said: “Ride-sharing has huge potential in terms of shaping the future of mobility. Through this collaboration with Uber, we would like to explore new ways of delivering secure, convenient and attractive mobility services to customers.”
The news comes on the same day as Volkswagen announced that it’s investing $300m in ride-sharing app Gett. The deal values the Israeli startup at more than $520m.
Earlier this year, General Motors announced a $500m investment in Uber rival Lyft while Apple recently announced it would invest $1bn in Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing.