Uber and Toyota Announce Partnership

Toyota on Tuesday announced it is making a “strategic investment” in Uber and looking into ways to collaborate with the ride-sharing app, including offering auto leases to the company’s drivers.

The partnership will start with trials, Toyota said. The new leasing options will allow Uber drivers to lease their vehicles from Toyota and cover their payments through their generated earnings.

The two companies also plan to develop in-car apps that support Uber drivers, advance research efforts and launch a “special fleet program” to sell Toyota and Lexus vehicles to Uber.

“Ridesharing has huge potential in terms of shaping the future of mobility. Through this collaboration with Uber, we would like to explore new ways of delivering secure, convenient and attractive mobility services to customers,” Shigeki Tomoyama, senior managing officer of Toyota, said in a statement.