Will Tech Leave Detroit in the Dust?

As IPO proposals value Uber at an eye-popping $120 billion, auto makers are racing to gain ground in everything from car sharing to driverless technology. At stake: who will control the future of transportation

Mike Colias and

Tim Higgins

Oct. 20, 2018 12:01 a.m. ET

General Motors plans to roll out a robo-taxi service next year that will let urbanites hail a driverless Chevrolet Bolt. Ford is overhauling a dilapidated Detroit train station to become a tech hub aimed at attracting software superstars. Daimler wants to merge one of its divisions with archrival BMW to create a juggernaut for services like ride hailing and car sharing.

And Toyota says it’s evolving into an entirely different company, one that focuses more on services that move people around. “It’s a matter of surviving...