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Toyota Motor Corporation will acquire Lyft’s self-driving unit, an announcement confirmed April 26.

The cost of the deal is $550 million, and Toyota’s new Woven Planet division will handle the Japanese company’s automation ambitions.

Lyft will receive $200 million in cash from Toyota up front, and the remaining $350 million of the deal will be paid over the next five years.

“The transaction is also expected to remove $100 million of annualized non-GAAP operating expenses on a net basis—primarily from reduced R&D spend—which will accelerate Lyft’s path to Adjusted EBITDA profitability,” Lyft said in a press release.

Toyota will not only acquire the self-driving unit, but the deal will also provide the automaker with Lyft’s 300 employees.

“Not only will this transaction allow Lyft to focus on advancing our leading Autonomous platform and transportation network, this partnership will help pull in our profitability timeline,” said John Zimmer, co-founder and president of Lyft. “Assuming the transaction

closes within the expected timeframe and the COVID recovery continues, we are confident that we can achieve Adjusted EBITDA profitability in the third quarter of this year.”

Woven Planet Chief Executive James Kuffner told reporters April 27, “This is the first step of establishing and bringing together the people. Obviously, building technology and product requires people, and that’s much what this acquisition is about.”

Kuffner is likely referencing the presence in Silicon Valley and London that Woven Planet will now have because of the acquisition. The partnership and could alleviate the issues that come with the acquisition of a new company. Lyft’s advantages in the acquisition allow it to take a profit away from the development of self-driving technologies. Lyft hasn’t released its self-driving tech, which is aimed toward complete automation, known as Level 5 autonomy, but

it can give the rest of the tasks to Toyota while walking away with a hefty profit.

Meanwhile, Toyota gains more experience and expertise in the self-driving sector through the acquisition. Toyota has Level 2 automation with advanced driver assistance tech. Level 2 describes “Partial Driving Automation” through Advanced Driver Assistance Systems.

“The vehicle can perform steering and acceleration. The human still monitors all tasks and can take control at any time,” according to Synopsys‘ breakdown of automation levels.

Kuffner said Woven Planet will continue investing and growing its team but did not give any further details about acquisition plans or a timeline that would describe possible moves in the future.

According to Reuters‘ coverage of the acquisition, Toyota will “likely make more deals, even if they do not ultimately lead to self-driving vehicles to ‘actively gather software and people who have knowledge.’” This is according to Seiji Sugiura, a senior analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute.

The transaction is expected to close in Q3 2021 and will be subjected to required regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.

We thank Teslarati for reprint permission.

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In an effort to delay the effects of a gasoline shortage and subsequent price spike on the East Coast, the Biden Administration just issued an order to enable overtime for some truck drivers moving gasoline, according to a May 9 declaration from the Department of Transportation.

This comes in response to the shutdown of one of the country’s most critical fossil fuel pipelines following one of the largest cyberattacks on gas and oil infrastructure in American history.

Fossil fuel shortage could affect the East Coast

On May 7, Colonial Pipeline said it suffered a critical ransomware attack—forcing it to halt all operations while it worked to secure its IT architecture from hackers. Some of the company’s smaller pipelines have resumed service, but as of May 10, the pipeline’s main pathways were still shut down for an unspecified timeframe.

“On May 7, the Colonial Pipeline Company learned it was the victim of a cybersecurity attack. We have since determined that this incident involves ransomware,” read the statement from the fossil fuel company. “In response, we proactively took certain systems offline to contain the threat, which has temporarily halted all pipeline operations, and affected some of our IT systems.”

The Department of Transportation (DOT) subsequently declared a state of emergency, following the shutdown, and waived requirements for drivers and motor carriers working to circumvent potential shortages from the pipeline shutdown.

This means they can drive for more than 11 hours, the typical daily limit, in a collective effort to delay the potential fuel shortages that can happen, since Colonial’s pipeline network fuels roughly 45% of all gasoline on the East Coast.

The DOT said the Colonial pipeline shutdown may create shortages of “gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other refined petroleum products,” with overtime waivers effective in the following territories: Virginia, Texas, Tennessee, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Noth Carolina, New York, Mississippi, Maryland, Louisiana, Kentucky, Georgia, Florida, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Arkansas and Alabama.

gas. This is a big deal.” Especially since road and rail transport are far more expensive than pipelines—and there’s another caveat to extending road and rail-based supply lines for fossil fuel. Colonial’s pipeline is integral to the energy infrastructure of the U.S., stretching more than 5,000 miles and moving more than 2.5 million gallons of gasoline daily from refineries throughout the Gulf Coast to more than 50 million people on or near the East Coast. Several tanker trucks racing gasoline down a high- The shutdown comes while way under the sun Credit: Rasica/iStock many are just starting to resume their normal transits to The East Coast could see pump work. If the pipeline doesn’t go prices spike in the coming week online in the next several days, an“This is the largest impact on the alysts have said fuel prices might energy system in the United States rise along the Eastern Seaboard, we’ve seen from a cyberattack, full with scattered shortages. stop,” said CEO Rob Lee of Dra- This was a breaking story and gos, an infrastructure-focused se- was regularly updated as new incurity firm, in a report from Wired. formation became available. “You have a real ability to impact the electric system in a broad way We thank Interesting Engineering by cutting the supply of natural for reprint permission.

Now is the Perfect Time to Sell or Trade Your Car: Kelley Blue Book

If you have been considering selling or trading in your car anytime soon, now is the time to get serious.

With low vehicle inventory on dealership lots, increased car-shopper demand and resulting high prices, the market conditions are prime for peak consumer profit for people selling their vehicle, according to Kelley Blue Book.

Used-car prices are up 18% yearover-year, meaning a used car sitting in someone’s garage right now is currently worth on average nearly onefifth more than it was last year. Given the high-ticket prices of vehicles, that percentage can translate into quite a bit more cash lining a seller’s pockets.

To view it another way, vehicles that were retaining 55% of their value a few months ago are fetching 60% to 65% of it now.

The biggest factor contributing to the current market conditions is limited supply of used cars. According to data from vAuto, there are approximately 2.34 million used cars available in America today. That’s more than 530,000 fewer than just one year ago in 2020, and about 430,000 less than during the same period in a more normal 2019.

These circumstances point to a huge opportunity for people thinking about selling or trading in their current vehicle.

“There has never been a much better time to sell or trade in your car than right now during this strong seller’s market,” said Matt DeLorenzo, senior managing editor for Kelley Blue Book. “Dealerships are seeking more used-car inventory, and prices are reaching sky high. If you’re in a position to sell, it’s a great time to command top dollar for your old car. And if you’re trading in your vehicle to purchase a new one, the increased value of your used car will help take some of the sting out of the higher price you’re likely to pay when purchasing a car in these market conditions.” Consumers who want to buy a car right now are facing some tough times. Prices are high, supply is low and the forces that could change these conditions are caught up in a perfect storm of complex factors.

A worldwide microchip shortage has severely limited new-car production, and the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered many people to look for an inexpensive car rather than use public transit for their daily commute. Dealerships have fewer used vehicles to offer right now, but people are still buying cars and the demand is growing. Increased vaccinations are leading to the world slowly reopening, and when combined with boosted disposable income from government stimulus programs designed to kickstart the economy, people are shopping for cars again in droves.

“America may be slowly returning to some semblance of normal, but the car market isn’t,” said DeLorenzo. “This means that people’s prior car-shopping experiences will not be able to tell them exactly how to handle this market. If consumers are even able to find the vehicle they want right now, they need to be prepared and understand they’re likely going to pay more for it than they probably thought they would.

“With demand high and supply low, manufacturers aren’t offering as many discounts as people are accustomed to seeing; without available incentives, dealerships aren’t able to negotiate as much. And we don’t expect this to change much anytime soon—it’s going to be a lean market for quite some time.”

Understanding what your car is worth when selling or trading in, and what you should expect to pay when you’re buying a new or used car, can ensure you get the most for your money in either situation.

Before selling or trading in a used car, consumers should research the trusted Blue Book Value® of their vehicle.

Prior to purchasing any new or used vehicle, experts recommend that car shoppers check out the Fair Purchase Price range for that specific model on KBB.com. Based on thousands of data points and updated weekly to factor in changing market conditions, Kelley Blue Book’s Fair Purchase Price helps people understand what they should realistically expect to pay for that particular vehicle in their local area.

For more information about the timing of buying, selling and trading in cars given the current related market conditions, visit https://www.kbb. com/car-advice/is-now-the-time-tobuy-sell-or-trade-in-a-used-car/

Source: Kelley Blue Book