Toyota and China’s leading mobility service provider DiDi Chuxing have signed a new agreement to expand their collaboration in Mobility as a Service (MaaS) in the country. As part of this agreement, Toyota will invest $600 million (approximately 66 billion yen) in DiDi and a joint venture, which the two companies will establish with GAC Toyota Motor.
e-Palettes for various services
Toyota and DiDi had announced collaboration on e-Palette concept in January 2018, with other partners including Amazon, Mazda, Pizza Hut and Uber. The concept is a fully autonomous, battery-electric vehicle with an open control interface and a set of software tools to allow partner companies to install their own automated driving system.
Both companies launched various services including a vehicle leasing service in May 2018. Those cars are equipped with Toyota’s in-vehicle device, TransLog, leveraging analysis capabilities of Toyota’s proprietary Mobility Services Platform (MSPF) to provide automobile maintenance support and safe driving guidance to ride-hailing drivers.
Through this new agreement, Toyota and DiDi plan to shift to full-scale implementation of services that they have been developing in China. The collaboration will also allow Toyota and DiDi to expand various connected services provided by MSPF including vehicle management, maintenance, insurance, and financing for customers and drivers.
I am delighted that we are strengthening our collaboration, which utilizes Toyota’s connected technologies and next-generation BEVs, with DiDi, China’s mobility service market leader. Looking ahead, we will work with DiDi to develop services that are more attractive, safe, and secure for our customers in China – Shigeki Tomoyama, Executive Vice President, Toyota
DiDi is committed to help our cities achieve new energy and smart transportation goals with partners from home and abroad. We look forward to combining DiDi’s expertise in AI-based large-scale mobility operations and Toyota’s leading connected vehicle technology to build a next-generation intelligent transportation framework for sustainable cities – Stephen Zhu, Senior Vice President, DiDi
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