Toyota Motor
Corp. has paid $550 million for Lyft's self-driving division, highlighting the
Japanese automaker's ambitions in the sector. Woven Planet Holdings, a Toyota
subsidiary that started operations in January, and focuses on technologies and
investment in projects such as "smart cities," robotics, and
automated driving, completed the acquisition, which was announced Tuesday. According
to Toyota, the payment will be split into two parts: $200 million upfront and
$350 million over five years.
According to
Toyota, the Woven Planet project will put together engineers and researchers in
the fields of mobility facilities, software & sensor assets, and automated
driving systems in order to advance the technology. "This arrangement will
be basic in weaving together individuals, capital, and framework that will help
us change the world we live in through portability innovation that will present
to us each of the a better, more secure future," said Woven Planet CEO
James Kuffner. Woven Planet and Lyft have reached a strategic agreement to use
the Lyft system and fleet data to accelerate the technology's
commercialization.
Woven Planet
will be based in Tokyo, Palo Alto, California, and London, according to Toyota.
Woven City, which recently broke ground in Japan to create a neighbourhood
featuring intelligent homes, autonomous vehicles, and other mobility items for
Toyota's employees and other residents, is a centerpiece of Woven Planet.
"Woven Planet is on track to achieve its goal of combining Silicon
Valley's creative culture with world-renowned Japanese craftsmanship to build
tomorrow's mobility solutions," said George Kellerman, Woven Planet's
investment manager.
All of the
world's leading automakers are developing technologies to make cars smarter,
safer, and more connected. Lyft is a ride-sharing and car-rental company that
was established in 2012. Toyota also announced on Tuesday, that it would
collaborate on next-generation vehicle communications devices with Japanese
automakers Suzuki Motor Corp., Subaru Corp., Daihatsu Motor Co., and Mazda
Motor Corp. Despite the financial consequences of the coronavirus pandemic,
Toyota has remained relatively resilient and continues to invest in low-emission
technologies such as electric cars, fuel cells & hybrids, robotics, and
other developments.
In February,
"Woven City," the company's flagship project, began its work. The
laboratory area, which is being constructed on the site of a decommissioned Toyota
factory near Mount Fuji in Japan, will facilitate potential technical growth
and research. According to an AFP study, Woven City's first residents should
arrive in four to five years, with a community of around 360 engineers and
inventors. Both, Lyft and Uber have been developing their own autonomous
vehicle technologies, but the pandemic has slowed ride sharing, which has hurt
both companies.
However, the
introduction of such technology poses a challenge for long-established
companies such as Toyota, because entrants will emerge as pioneers in a
completely new game "Who might end up as the winner as far as financial
matters? Auto producers everywhere on the world are preparing for the coming
commotion "In a new discourse, Daniel Yergin, bad habit administrator of
IHS Markit, composed. Toyota is rebranding itself as a mobility group.
Volkswagen has taken things a step further, branding itself as a
"software-driven mobility provider." Companies that do not yet exist,
though, maybe the biggest winners.