Will Tech Leave Detroit in the Dust?

And Toyota says it's evolving into an entirely different company, one that focuses more on services that move people around. "It's a matter of surviving or dying," says Chief Executive Akio Toyoda. The global auto industry thinks it sees the future, and it will require a transformation without precedent in business history: The giant industrial sector has to turn itself into a nimble provider of software and services. This week brought yet another signal of the forces it's up against: Uber Technologies Inc., which has chalked up about $4.8 billion in operating losses over the last six quarters, is laying plans for an initial public offering that bankers think could value it at $120 billion. That's more than General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. F 2.14% and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV combined.