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Anjani Trivedi

Carmakers Throw Money at the Future of Driving

Honda and Toyota’s investments in autonomous vehicles could prove to be pricey endeavors.

Is Honda backing the right horse? — Is Honda backing the right horse?
Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

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October 4, 2018, 4:17 AM UTCUpdated onOctober 4, 2018, 6:37 AM UTC

Japan Inc. is leaping into the future of cars, courtesy of SoftBank Group Corp.

On Wednesday, Honda Motor Co. announced a $2.75 billion investment in General Motors Co.’s self-driving subsidiary Cruise, a departure from the Japanese carmaker’s tight-fisted approach to technology spending. That follows SoftBank Vision Fund’s $2.25 billion outlay just months ago. With these, GM Cruise is now valued at close to $15 billion.