Driverless car funding

SHARES in General Motors posted their largest one-day gain since the company’s rebirth from bankruptcy eight years ago, after Japan’s Softbank decided to pump £1.7bn into its autonomous car unit.

The deal is the largest yet between a technology investment firm and a car maker.

The investment gives Softbank a 20pc stake in GM Cruise, the company’s San Francisco-based autonomous vehicle unit.

GM said yesterday that it will add £830m to Softbank’s investment to speed large-scale deployment of self- driving robo-taxis next year. GM has announced plans to carry passengers in selfdriving cars that won’t have a human backup driver from 2019. Shares rocketed 12.9pc, or $4.87, to $42.70.