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With Lyft’s plans to bring self-driving car experiments into production vehicles offering rides, it’s going to need a lot of help. For this, the company has decided to partner with Magna.
The partnership will see the two jointly fund and develop autonomous car systems for both Lyft and the broader automotive industry. Lyft will be leading the development, while Magna will be in charge of manufacturing as well as contributing its knowledge in vehicle systems, safety and driver assistance. Both companies hope to make the technology available to the industry on a larger scale in the “next few years.” In addition, Magna will fund $200 million into Lyft on top of the money that’s needed for the project.
Why are both sides teaming up? Well, both sides have incentives to push for this partnership. Lyft is going to counter Uber and make driverless ridesharing a core value of its fleet, and it needs self-driving systems that are refined and economical at the volumes it needs. For Magna, they’re one of the most influential automotive suppliers in the business, and this track with Lyft will help the development of self-driving platforms it can sell to other car makers. Both companies are investing for the future and reap the rewards at a later time.
