Toyota hails a ride with Uber

Carmakers Toyota and Volkswagen have struck separate partnerships with rideshare companies Uber and Gett. The Japanese company will invest an unspecified amount in Uber and offer new leasing options for its drivers. Toyota said the two companies would share also knowledge and speed up their research efforts in areas such as driverless cars. Volkswagen announced an investment in Gett, an Israel-based rideshare operator. Toyota said that as patterns of car usage continued to change, it wanted the collaboration to be about more than simply providing vehicles but to also collaborate on technology such as in-car apps.