Lyft continues to advance its self-driving technology by partnering up with Britain’s biggest car maker, Jaguar Land Rover. InMotion, Jaguar Land Rover‘s mobility service business venture, has announced that it will invest a total of $25 million in the ride-hailing company based in San Francisco, California.
The investment, as part of its $600 million Series G fundraising round held in April, is said to help Lyft develop and test technology for self-driving cars. Included in the investment, JLR will supply a fleet of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles to the ride-hailing service company, which can be used to test autonomous technology.
The new U.K. business partnership could also help Lyft expand its services abroad.
A little over a week ago, Lyft announced it was also collaborating with nuTonomy, a self-driving car start-up based out of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Both companies plan to provide a fleet of self-driving vehicles through a limited pilot program that will allow Lyft app users to hail self-driving cars directly from the app.
Waymo, Google’s self-driving unit, also joined forces with Lyft when the two companies signed a deal that would allow them to begin working together in an effort to push self-driving cars toward mainstream functions.
At a press call, Lyft’s CEO, Logan Green, expressed that the company’s numerous partnerships are by no means exclusive and allow room for other collaborations.
The company incorporated an open platform upon announcing its partnership with nuTonomy which will allow other companies to deploy their self-driving cars. According to Business Insider Intelligence, only two percent of U.S. consumers trust ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft to develop their own self-driving cars, which may be the reason Lyft is choosing to go about autonomous technology with the help of already-established auto companies.
Although specific details about the platform have not been released, the system will presumably include Lyft’s app software, which will allow companies to collect data from operating autonomous vehicles used through the app. With Lyft averaging a total of one million trips per day, companies will be able to access real-world data that could be extremely beneficial for advancing driverless technology.
With the help of experienced partners, such as Jaguar Land Rover, Lyft executives have articulated a goal of having a self-driving fleet on U.S. roadways by the year 2021.
“Lyft envisions a future where shared mobility will transform cities and improve people’s lives,” Lyft President John Zimmer said in the joint release. “This partnership will help us achieve that ambitious goal.”
A timeline has yet to be released regarding when Lyft drivers should expect to get their hands on JLR vehicles.