By Mayumi Negishi July 25, 2019 2:00 am ET TOKYO— Toyota Motor Corp. TM 0.95% will invest $600 million in Chinese ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing Technology Co., in the Japanese auto maker’s latest push to expand its technology portfolio.
The two companies will also set up a joint venture that will provide support services to drivers on Didi’s network, Didi said Thursday. Toyota has been investing in ride-hailing companies like Uber Technologies Inc. and Southeast Asia’s Grab Inc. as it looks for growth beyond car manufacturing. Toyota’s partnership with Grab has helped the Japanese company collect driving data as it looks to develop new services, such as insurance based on driver behavior. Fleet management data would also be useful in developing self-driving technology and electric cars.
Didi is in talks to raise up to $2 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported last week. Despite being the biggest player in China’s ride-hailing market, Didi is struggling to reach profitability as it faces off with smaller rivals and expands into other businesses like leasing.Copyright ©2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
The Toyota automobile Company has achieved the achievement of overcoming the hegemony of American companies in the sector, and following its growth platform makes it possible not to stay behind in the technology and innovation segment. Path that brought her leadership.
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