In the race for the autonomous vehicle, we’ve seen ride share UBER develop their version, Google’s Waymo is launching their beta rides for Arizona residents, and now Lyft is getting in the game with a little help from our neighbors across the pond.
InMotion, Jaguar Land Rover’s mobility services business, is no stranger to investing in mobility and transportation sector, and today they announced a $25m (£19m) investment in Lyft, the fastest-growing rideshare company in the U.S.
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This collaboration and investment will allow Lyft to step up to the plate and begin to develop and test their version of mobility services, including autonomous vehicles.
According to The State of Autonomous Vehicles, by Brian Solis, Principal Analyst at Altimeter, we are in the mist of a “transportation renaissance that will effect every industry. [Currently] there are over 22 automakers and 34 hardware/software companies helping to develop self-driving cars.”
Sebastian Peck, InMotion Managing Director, said, “We are excited to collaborate with a leading platform like Lyft not only on developing premium mobility solutions but also devising innovative solutions to the transport problems Jaguar Land Rover’s customers face.
“Personal mobility and smart transportation is evolving and this new collaborative venture will provide a real-world platform helping us develop our connected and autonomous services.”
Besides the money, Jaguar Land Rover is going to supply Lyft with a fleet of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles. The thought of hailing a Lyft and a self-driving Range Rover showing up will be quite a nice ride to work.
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President and cofounder of Lyft John Zimmer had this to say about the partnership:
“We’re excited to join forces with Jaguar Land Rover and InMotion,” said John Zimmer, Lyft President and cofounder. “Lyft envisions a future where shared mobility will transform.”
This is a strategic investment for all parties to boost innovation around these mobility solutions for customers.
Read about technological advances with autonomous cars at Tech.Co
