Hyperdrive

Toyota Bets on Future of Taxis With Ride-Hailing App Investment

Asia’s biggest automaker is doubling down on taxis.

Toyota Motor Corp. JPN Taxi vehicles are driven in a garage following its launch in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday, Oct. 23, 2017. Toyota wants a third of cabs on Tokyo’s streets to be its next-generation taxi by the start of the 2020 Summer Olympics, as it aims to create an icon on par with the yellow cabs of New York and black cabs of London.Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg

Provide news feedback or report an error

Confidential tip?

Send a tip to our reporters

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

By Kevin Buckland and Nao Sano

February 8, 2018 at 3:59 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Toyota Motor Corp. is doubling down on taxis.

Seeking a bigger role in defining the future of connected mobility, Asia’s biggest automaker is investing an additional 7.5 billion yen ($68.6 million) into Japan Taxi, a cab-hailing app run by Ichiro Kawanabe, a taxi industry insider. They will collaborate on data collection and connected taxi terminals, the companies said in a statement Thursday.