Ride-hailing company Lyft is joining with large Canadian auto parts supplier Magna to develop self-driving vehicles, sharing expenses on a multi-year project that could vault them onto the leader board in autonomous technology.
The companies announced the partnership March 14 and also said that Magna would invest $200 million in Lyft.
Raj Kapoor, Lyft’s chief strategy officer, says Lyft needs auto industry expertise to manufacture autonomous vehicle components and eventually build the vehicles. Automakers know how to design vehicles so they meet safety regulations and can be manufactured easily, Kapoor said.
