According to report from Reuters, more automakers have joined the automotive self-driving venture between Toyota and SoftBank Corp.
Suzuki, Mazda, Isuzu, Daihatsu and Subaru according to sources, will take a stake of 2 percent each in the venture dubbed “Monet”. For now, none of the manufacturers is coming out to comment on this new development.
The Monet idea of autonomous vehicles will be based on the company's e-Palette concept
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The “Monet”, introduced in October 2018, is making a platform for on-demand self-driving, which got investment from Hino Motors and Honda in March, gathering up to $23 million as total investment. We are yet to know the financial commitment of the five new partners to the venture, but there is a report of 35 percent each owned by SoftBank and Toyota. Honda and Hino on the other hand have ten percent each as their investment stake.
Other top Japanese car makers are now investing in Monet despite Toyota's and SoftBank's major stake
Monet’s objective is to promote production of autonomous vehicles among the Japanese car manufacturers. This is evident as Monet earlier this month, disclosed the intention of the venture for the year 2020's launch of the basic version of its service in Southeast Asia. By next year, it will be introducing car services and on-demand bus next year in Japan.
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Toyota e-Palette Concept
Admittedly, future self-driving vehicles will be the nucleus of the Monet service and such will revolve around e-palette concept car of the company, introduced early 2018 at CES. The idea behind the concept’s design is to be utilized for multiple services, such as transportation means for delivery vehicle and ride-share users.
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