Toyota, Uber strike investment and leasing deal

Japanese car giant Toyota just invested in Uber. As per TechCrunch:

Uber has confirmed a strategic investment and auto leasing deal from Toyota.

“Toyota is a global leader in the automotive industry and Toyota vehicles are among the most popular cars on the Uber platform worldwide,” Uber said in a statement to TechCrunch. “We are proud to partner with Toyota in a variety of ways, including the expansion of our vehicle financing program.”

Uber would not disclose terms of the deal or the financing program and there aren’t many details yet, but according to a release from the car manufacturer, Toyota is interested in exploring the future of transportation with Uber and the companies have “entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore collaboration, starting with trials, in the world of ridesharing in countries where ridesharing is expanding, taking various factors into account such as regulations, business conditions, and customer needs.”

The parties didn’t disclose what those “trials” are but they probably include self-driving technology. Just this week, Uber confirmed it’s started testing self-driving cars in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, while last year, Toyota launched an investment fund for companies focused on developing AI and robotics – core technologies related to autonomous cars.

This isn’t the first deal between a traditional car maker and a ride-hailing app. Previously, GM bought into Uber rival Lyft, and Volkswagen struck a deal with New York’s Gett. The VC firm co-founded by Ford Motor chairman Bill Ford has also invested in soon-to-launch self-driving taxi service NuTonomy. NuTonomy also has partnerships with automotive players such as Jaguar Land Rover in Michigan and the UK.

The ridesharing war is definitely heating up.