Last checked at 
By Nick Carey
LONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - German automotive industry
supplier ZF Friedrichshafen AG will invest in British autonomous
vehicle software startup Oxbotica to jointly develop driving
systems for pod-like shuttles which will be able to transport
people and goods.
ZF is taking a 5% stake in Oxford-based Oxbotica and will
take a seat on its advisory board, the two companies said on
Thursday. Financial details of the stake were not disclosed.
The investment is the latest in a series of deals and
projects that ZF, which had 2020 revenue of 32.6 billion euros
($37.7 billion), has announced that are aimed at helping the
German auto supplier bolster its expertise in autonomous-driving
technologies.
"Together with Oxbotica, we are developing self-driving
systems for autonomous people and cargo movers addressing the
current challenges in public transport and logistics," ZF
executive vice president for autonomous mobility systems Torsten
Gollewski said in a statement.
The pair have worked together on projects since 2019, they
said.
Earlier this year, British online grocer Ocado said
it would invest 10 million pounds ($13.6 million) in Oxbotica as
part of a tie-up aimed at reducing last-mile delivery costs.
In May, ZF and Intel Corp's Mobileye unit said they
will jointly develop advanced safety systems - including
automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control and lane
keeping systems - for Toyota Motor Corp.
($1 = 0.7361 pounds)
(Reporting By Nick Carey;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
