JLR set to invest $25m to develop autonomous driving technology

In the footsteps of General Motors and Google's Waymo, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced that it is set to invest US$25 million in Lyft through its innovation arm InMotion to develop its own autonomous driving technology. The British carmaker, now owned by the Tata Group, has already started experimenting on self-driving vehicles in the UK and plans to operate a fleet of more than 100 driverless cars in the next three years.

Lyft, a US-based transport network company that has previously worked with Google's Waymo, looks all set to receive a fleet of JLR cars to develop the self-driving technology.

Hanno Kirner, executive director of corporate and strategy, Jaguar Land Rover, has termed this move as a "strategic investment for both parties as we focus on innovating new mobility solutions for our customers". He also mentioned, "Collaborating with an expanding technology business like Lyft is going to help us both accelerate our ambitions."

Commenting on this partnership John Zimmer, Lyft president and co-founder, said, "We're excited to join forces with Jaguar Land Rover and InMotion... Lyft envisions a future where shared mobility will transform cities and improve people's lives. This partnership will help us achieve that ambitious goal."