Jaguar Land Rover’s mobility services business, InMotion
Ventures, is investing $25 million in Lyft rideshare service.
The investment will support Lyft’s expansion and technology plans and provide InMotion with the opportunity to develop and
test its mobility services—including autonomous vehicles—and to supply Lyft drivers with a fleet of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles.
Jaguar Land Rover follows General Motors and
others investing in Lyft, which intends to add self-driving vehicles to its fleets, says Autotrader Senior Analyst Michelle Krebs.
“The investment isn't huge, but allows JLR to dip their
toe into the future mobility waters,” Krebs tells Marketing Daily. “We will see more of these kinds of investments in future mobility services going forward.”
General
Motors invested $500 million in Lyft last year, giving it a 9% stake in the company. The automaker also holds a seat on Lyft's board of directors.
Sebastian Peck,
InMotion managing director, said the automaker is excited to collaborate with Lyft not only on developing premium mobility solutions but also devising innovative solutions to the transport problems
Jaguar Land Rover’s customers face.
“Personal mobility and smart transportation is evolving and this new collaborative venture will provide a real-world platform helping us develop
our connected and autonomous services,” Peck says in a release.
Lyft envisions a future where shared mobility will transform cities and improve people’s lives, says John
Zimmer, Lyft president and co-founder.
“This partnership will help us achieve that ambitious goal,” Zimmer says in a release.
InMotion’s latest investment follows its
recent seed investment in SPLT, the Detroit-based digital carpool business, which works with Lyft to provide non-emergency medical transport. The Lyft investment was included as part of the company's
most recent round of fundraising, which closed in April. InMotion offers pre-seed investment and hands-on support to up to 10 early stage start-ups every year.