Toyota to invest $500m in Uber driverless car deal

Japanese carmaker Toyota has announced it will invest $500.0m in Uber and expand a partnership focused on developing self-driving vehicles.

The manufacturer said the deal would involve the "mass-production" of autonomous vehicles that would be used in Uber’s ride sharing services.

According to a press release issued by the two firms, self-driving technology from both companies will be integrated into purpose-built Toyota vehicles.

The fleet will be based on Toyota's Sienna Minivan model with pilot trials set to begin in 2021.

Shigeki Tomoyama, executive vice president of Toyota Motor Corporation, said: "This agreement and investment marks an important milestone in our transformation to a mobility company as we help provide a path for safe and secure expansion of mobility services like ride-sharing."

It was hoped that the deal would give Toyota and Uber a boost in the race to develop autonomous vehicles. The ride hailing company scaled back its self-driving trials earlier in the year after a fatal crash in Tempe, Arizona, in March, where one self-driving vehicle killed a pedestrian.

On Monday, Uber said it would focus more on its electric scooter and bike business in future to make travel in the city more efficient, despite the fact it could hurt profits.