Suzuki invests in startup to develop self-driving minicars

TOKYO — Suzuki Motor will team up with a Nagoya-based startup to develop self-driving technology for minicars, aiming to meet demand from Japan’s less-populated regions in need of compact autonomous cars that can travel on narrow roads.

The Japanese automaker has underwritten a portion of a roughly 8 billion yen ($50 million) capital increase by Tier IV, which develops autonomous driving technology and assists carmakers in its adoption.