Amazon to help Toyota build cloud-based data services

(Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc’s cloud computing unit will help Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> build a platform to help manage and monetize data gathered from the automaker’s global vehicle fleet, the companies said on Monday.

Toyota said its Mobility Services Platform will enable it to process and analyze data that can be used to develop vehicle services from ride and car sharing to behavior-based insurance and maintenance notifications.

The deal is an expansion of Amazon Web Services’ existing collaboration with Toyota, and marks the e-commerce giant’s expanding foray into the transportation business.

In July, AWS announced it was expanding a partnership with Germany’s Volkswagen AG to help develop the automaker’s cloud-based software and data portal into an industry-wide marketplace where business customers can buy and sell industrial applications.

In the automotive sector, AWS previously has partnered with automotive suppliers such as Aptiv, Panasonic Corp and Nvidia Corp, big transportation providers such as Uber and Avis, and self-driving heavy truck startups Embark and China’s TuSimple.

(Reporting by Neha Malara in Bengaluru and Paul Lienert in Detroit; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi and Nick Zieminski)