Yesterday, it was announced that Toyota would invest $500m into Uber.
Was does this mean?
Well, firstly… It means, Uber is now estimated to be worth around $72bn. Quite a jump from the recent valuation of $62bn.
Secondly, It means… Toyota are certain this is the future because they also invested $1bn in Grab (Uber equivalent/competitor/rival in South Asia).
Thirdly, It means.. self-driving cars will be on your roads sooner than we think.
Yes there have been problems, especially when one of Uber’s self-driving SUV’s killed a pedestrian in Arizona, USA. You could call that a big problem.
Uber have been investing… but, being honest, it’s been a struggle for them. Expensive lawsuits… the fatal accident… etc… and sometimes, what you need is, someone to come along – to confirm what you’re doing is right… to ensure you keep going… keep experimenting.
Toyota is doing that. They know that car ownership will be a thing of the past. We can see trends of that in certain cities… where it’s easier, cheaper and quicker to use the train/underground/subway… or even a bike. Why own a car? – there’s so much expense that goes with it… the insurance, road tax, MOT, etc…
It’s very much similar to the ‘Estate Agent’ industry. They’re going through a massive shake-up. Country-wide, who own 50 Estate Agent brands and employ over 8,000 people, have about £200m debt and yesterday had to raise £140m ’emergency funds’ – which they did, with the help of their board.
Go back 3 years… and look how their share price has tumbled….
Why? well… On-line estate agencies have become more popular and more and more people are using them. They’re less and less going to the high street. Countrywide own all the high street estate agents.
Technology is enabling customers to do things quicker and easier.
Toyota know this. They know self-driving technology will, one day, be the norm. We’ll have self-driving cars. There’ll be phases of it… as the technology gets better and better. People won’t want to own cars. They’ll just summon a vehicle to them… use it to get from Point A to Point B.
We kind of do that with taxi’s, right? Summon them to pick us up from Point A and take us to Point B.
Uber made it easier via an App.
Toyota know a thing or two about cars.
Combine the two together…
It’s all about collaboration.