Toyota has already invested $500 million in Uber as the firm races Google-owned Waymo and a host of other companies, including major automakers, to develop self-driving vehicles. The latest investment, which also involves Japanese parts maker DENSO, will go to Uber's Advanced Technologies Group in a bid to "accelerate the development and commercialisation of automated ridesharing," the firms said in a statement.
Toyota and DENSO are stumping up $667 million and SoftBank Vision Fund, the investment arm of Japanese tycoon Masayoshi Son's SoftBank, will pour $333 million into the venture. It is already the top shareholder in Uber, holding 16 percent. The Japanese car firm said it would also contribute "an additional $300 million over the next three years to help cover the costs related to these activities." Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said driverless cars would "transform transportation as we know it, making our streets safer and our cities more liveable."
His firm is aiming to go beyond car rides to becoming the "Amazon of transportation" in a future where people share, instead of own, vehicles. If all goes to plan, commuters could ride an e-scooter to a transit station, take a train, then grab an e-bike, share a ride or take an e-scooter at the arriving station to complete a journey - all using an Uber app on a smartphone.