UK-based automotive manufacturer, Jaguar Land Rover, has launched a separate tech business to experiment with car-sharing apps and car ownership solutions.
The company, InMotion, will focus on creating apps and on-demand services to overcome modern travel and transport challenges.
Jaguar Land Rover says the driving reason behind creating InMotion was the way technology is changing the way people travel. Apps like Uber and Lyft now allow people to hail a cab directly from their smartphone, and in some cases, eliminate the need to own a car.
InMotion was separated from the main company because: "As a start-up business, InMotion combines the flexibility and pace needed to compete in the ever-changing mobility sector and allows us to react quickly to new tech," says Adrian Hallmark, group strategy director at Jaguar Land Rover.
The newly-formed company starts working on a solution by carrying out research with people from around the world to learn about emerging travel and transport issues. These insights lead to a set of closed real-world experiments.
Next, a business model and technology platform are developed, and then the solution is beta launched to the public.
InMotion is based in London and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jaguar Land Rover.
In May, InMotion will begin real-world testing of a number of different services across the US, Europe and Asia. There is no official indication of when it can be expected in Africa.
Sign up here for more information, and to be part of beta-testing.
Tech partners
Meanwhile, Reuters reports Hyundai will partner with Cisco to develop Internet-connected car technology, as part of the automaker's push to develop "high-performing computers on wheels".
Auto and tech firms are increasingly forming alliances to expand services that hook cars up to the Internet, particularly as the race to develop self-driving cars heats up.
Hyundai said vice-chairman Chung Eui-sun met Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins in Seoul and agreed to co-develop in-vehicle network technology for high-speed transfer of large amounts of data.
Other alliances include Toyota's expansion this month of a five-year-old partnership with Microsoft to develop new Internet-connected vehicle services for owners and dealers.
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