Toyota to invest $500m in Uber in driverless car deal

Toyota to invest $500m in Uber in driverless car deal

Japanese carmaker Toyota is to invest $500m (£387m) in Uber and expand a partnership to jointly develop self-driving cars.

The firm said this would involve the "mass-production" of autonomous vehicles that would be deployed on Uber's ride sharing network.

It is being viewed as a way for both firms to catch up with rivals in the competitive driverless car market.

The deal also values Uber at some $72bn, despite its mounting losses.

That is up 15% since its last investment in May but matches a previous valuation in February.

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

The fleet will be based on Toyota's Sienna Minivan model with pilot trials beginning 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."

Both Toyota and Uber are seen as lagging behind in developing self-driving cars, as firms such as Waymo, owned by Alphabet, steam ahead.

Uber has also scaled back its self-driving trials after a fatal crash in Tempe, Arizona, in March, when a self-driving Uber SUV killed a pedestrian.

Since then, the ride-hailing giant has removed its autonomous cars from the road and closed its Arizona operations.

Trump announces 'incredible' trade deal with Mexico

The US and Mexico have reached common ground on key trade terms as pressure mounts to complete renegotiation of the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement.

US President Donald Trump, a frequent critic of the existing deal, announced the apparent breakthrough on Monday.

The final outcome remains in doubt with Canada, the third country in the pact, due to rejoin talks on Tuesday.

Mr Trump has triggered a year of talks, after threatening to pull out of Nafta.

He demanded renegotiation of the 1994 trade agreement, which he blames for a decline in US manufacturing jobs, especially in the auto industry.

US shares rose and the Mexican peso strengthened on news of the preliminary treaty on Monday.

What has Trump said?

In a televised appearance at the White House, Mr Trump said the US and Mexico had agreed on terms that would make for an "incredible" deal that was "much more fair".

Negotiators have been rewriting the Nafta treaty over the past year, but in the last five weeks, Canada has not been part of the discussions.

"We will see whether or not we decide to put up Canada or just do a separate deal with Canada," Mr Trump said.

He also threatened Canada with tariffs on cars and said he wanted to get rid of the name Nafta, which he said has "bad connotations".

Where does Canada stand?

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has spoken with Mr Trump since the breakthrough with Mexico was announced.

They "had a constructive conversation" and "look forward to having their teams engage this week with a view to a successful conclusion of negotiations," Mr Trudeau's office said. Canadian negotiators are set to meet their US counterparts on Tuesday.

Mr Trudeau also spoke to outgoing Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Sunday, and the leaders shared their commitment to reaching a successful conclusion of Nafta "for all three parties".

Nissan produces first electric cars targeting Chinese market

Japan's Nissan has begun producing its first electric car aimed at China, according to media reports.

Working with a Chinese partner, Nissan is making a battery powered version of the popular Sylphy.

It is part of a growing push by automakers to manufacture greener vehicles for the world's biggest auto market.

It also comes as a US-China trade war is casting doubt over US business, a key market for Japanese carmakers.

Nissan has started producing the Sylphy Zero Emission along with China's Dongfeng Motor group.

It plans a lower-priced electric model for next year and wants battery-powered vehicles to make up about a third of its sales in by 2022, according to the reports.

"We're confident that the Sylphy Zero Emission rolling off the production line today will become a main player in the EV market," said Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa.

"We're going to roll out a range of EVs that will appeal to customers within all market segments."

China is the largest market for electric vehicles and new rules to cut pollution are expected to boost sales.

Global automakers including Ford and General Motors are all working to develop electric cars in China.