30, 2014, an increase of 3.8% on the same period the previous year. Volkswagen AG, which recorded sales of 5.07 million vehicles, was close behind. In August 2014, Toyota announced it would be cutting its spare-parts prices in China by up to 35%. The company admitted the move was in response to a probe foreshadowed earlier in the month by China's National Development and Reform Commission of Toyota's Lexus spare-parts policies, as part of an industry-wide investigation into what the Chinese regulator considers exorbitantly high prices being charged by automakers for spare parts and after-sales servicing. In November 2015, the company announced that it would invest over the next 5 years into artificial intelligence and robotics research. In 2016, Toyota invested in Uber. In 2020, a corporate governance report showed that Toyota owns 10.25 million shares of Uber, which was valued at $292.46 million as of March 30, 2020. According to Reuters, this was roughly 0.6 per cent of Uber's outstanding shares. In March 2016, Toyota partnered with Yanmar to create a fiberglass pleasure boat using Yanmar outboard marine diesel engines or Toyota inboard engines. In August 2016, the company purchased all remaining assets of Daihatsu, making the manufacturer of small cars a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota. On August 27, 2018, Toyota announced an investment of in Uber's autonomous cars. 2020s By 2020, Toyota reclaimed its position as the largest automaker in the world, surpassing Volkswagen. It sold 9.528 million vehicles globally despite an 11.3% drop in sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes subsidiaries Daihatsu and Hino Motors. On April 2, 2020, BYD and Toyota announced a new joint venture between the two companies called BYD Toyota EV Technology Co., Ltd., with the aim of "developing BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicles) that appeal to customers." In March 2021, Toyota, its subsidiary Hino, and Isuzu announced the creation of a strategic partnership between the three companies. Toyota acquired a 4.6% stake in Isuzu while the latter plans to acquire Toyota shares for an equivalent value. The three companies said they would form a new joint venture by April called Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies Corporation with the aim of developing fuel cell and electric light trucks. Toyota would own an 80% stake in the venture while Hino and Isuzu would own 10% each. In April 2021, Toyota said that it will buy Lyft's self-driving technology unit for $550 million and