Lyft to sell autonomous driving unit to Toyota for $550 million

US ride-hailing service Lyft agreed to sell its autonomous driving division to a unit of Japan’s Toyota for $550 million, the companies said Monday.

The move follows a similar divestment from Uber last year, with ride-sharing firms focusing on core operations as they struggle during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Lyft operation known as Level 5 will be folded into Woven Planet Holdings, a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation, which will create a team of some 1,200 people working on self-driving technology in Japan, the United States and Britain.

Lyft will receive some $550 million in cash, with $200 million paidup front and $350 million over five years under the agreement.