General Motors’ new ride-sharing bet

In an effort to fortify its foothold in the ride-sharing sector, General Motors has purchased San Francisco-based Sidecar Technologies Inc. and most of its assets.

Separately, GM has filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to use the name Maven “for application software for connecting vehicle drivers and passengers and for coordinating transportation services”. As part of the acquisition, Sidecar’s 20 employees will join GM, including the company’s co-founder and chief technology officer, Jahan Khanna, but not his fellow co-founder Sunil Paul.

According to Bloomberg, GM plans to launch its own transportation system which would let owners of GM vehicles give rides to people heading in the same direction, so buying the scraps of Sidecar only makes sense.

GM says it will integrate some of Sidecar’s employees and assets into its own urban mobility team. “We have no further details to share at this time”, a GM spokeswoman told Fortune.

That same month, GM announced a $500 million (roughly Rs. 3,398 crores) stake in Lyft as part of a “strategic alliance”.

The news comes three weeks after Sidecar announced it’s shutting down, unable to compete with Lyft and Uber in the market. “This is the end of the road for the Sidecar ride and delivery service, but it’s by no means the end of the journey for the company”. Earlier in January, the Detroit automaker invested Dollars 500 million in Lyft. GM President Ammann will take charge of Maven, this person said.

If Uber is able to keep costs down for riders and be cost-competitive with public transit, it could pose a significant threat to traditional individual auto ownership over the long term.