* Jaguar has invested $600 million into Lyft, with $25 million coming from Land Rover
* The luxury car company will also supply Lyft with vehicles to use for self-driving tests
* New Lyft drivers may soon be paired with Jaguar cars
Hot on the heels of Uber’s latest scandal, ride-sharing service Lyft has announced a promising partnership with luxury car manufacturer Jaguar. The British-based company has invested $600 million into Lyft, with $25 million coming from Land Rover.
Jaguar will also be awarding Lyft with a cadre of vehicles to use for self-driving tests. Soon enough, these high-end autonomous cars may be able to pick passengers up independently. “We want Lyft to be the OS for autonomous vehicles – the place where consumers come to access the best autonomous vehicles from a variety of partners,” a Lyft spokesman said.
This is yet another blow to ride-sharing competitor Uber, which has been embroiled in so many internal and external lawsuits that CEO Travis Kalanick has recently been forced to announce a leave of absence.
Jaguar now joins other car companies like GM in helping Lyft expand its reach and move into the autonomous market. Already, Lyft and Google-affiliated tech company Waymo are testing self-driving vehicles. Jaguar’s plan is to supply Lyft with hundreds of new vehicles, which they can use for both ride-sharing and testing.
Dates are still tentative, but word on the street is that Lyft will start implementing these cars immediately.
