Didi Chuxing announced that it has received from Toyota Motor Corporation new investment totaling $600 million. As part of the deal, the two companies will also set up a joint venture with GAC Toyota Motor to provide vehicle-related services to drivers on Didi’s ridesharing platform.

GAC Toyota itself is a joint venture between Toyota and GAC Group, one of China’s largest automakers. Nikkei Asian Review first broke the news at the end of May, reporting that Toyota was considering a $550 million investment in Didi and setting up a new mobility-services company in China.

Didi and Toyota announced last year that it would work together on services that use technology developed by Toyota for its mobility and vehicle-sharing platform, which includes autonomous driving software, a fully electric battery and the e-Palette or modules that can be used to build autonomous vehicles of different sizes, ranging from small ones for deliveries to passenger buses.

Toyota has also backed other vehicle-sharing companies including Uber and JapanTaxi. Didi’s partnership with Toyota is one of several partnerships it has made with car manufacturers and other vehicle-related companies as part of its D-Alliance, including Toyota, Volkswagen and Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, as well as major Chinese automakers like FAW, Dongfeng and GAC.

Continue reading:

https://techcrunch.com/2019/07/24/toyota-invests-600-million-in-didi-with-the-two-setting-up-a-new-joint-venture-for-driver-services/?utm_medium=TCnewsletter&tpcc=TCdailynewsletter

• Toyota invests $600 million in Didi, setting up a new joint venture for driver services.