Commencement of "Okazaki Public EV Share" Operation

Okazaki City*, NTT Business Solutions Ltd.**, Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co., Ltd.***, Sumitomo Mitsui Auto Service Company, Limited.****, REXEV Inc.*****, and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation******, as part of their initiative to achieve a Zero Carbon City, will gradually switch 68 public vehicles owned by Okazaki City to electric vehicles (hereinafter referred to as "EVs"). Additionally, two of these EVs will be made available for citizens and tourists through the EV car-sharing service "Okazaki Public EV Share" (hereinafter referred to as "this project").

This project will be implemented through the EV car-sharing service "N.mobi"*******.

*1. Okazaki City (Mayor: Yasuhiro Uchida)

**2. NTT Business Solutions Ltd. (President & CEO: Hidenori Kinogami)

***3. Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co., Ltd. (President & CEO: Tetsuro Imaeda)

****4. Sumitomo Mitsui Auto Service Company, Limited. (President & CEO: Koji Aso)

*****5. REXEV Inc. (President & CEO: Ken Watanabe)

******6. Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (Representative Executive Officer, President and Chief Executive Officer: Takao Kato)

*7. "N.mobi" is an EV car-sharing service operated by NTT Business Solutions Ltd.

N.mobi website: https://www.nttbizsol.jp/nmobi/

1. Background and Objectives

Okazaki City (joint proposers: Aichi Prefecture and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation) was selected as the "2nd Carbon Neutrality Pioneer Region" in November 2022 and is advancing initiatives towards the realization of a "2050 Zero Carbon City".*8

As part of this initiative, the city will electrify 68 public vehicles and implement this project, allowing citizens and tourists to use them for shopping, sightseeing, etc., after business hours on weekdays and on holidays.

The introduced EVs are all intended to operate on renewable energy electricity. Compared to conventional gasoline vehicles, an annual reduction of 80.7 t-CO₂ is expected. Furthermore, this project aims to promote the widespread adoption of EVs, reduce environmental impact through the penetration of the sharing economy, diversify transportation options, and effectively utilize public vehicles.

*8. Carbon Neutrality Pioneer Region "What to do about Carbon Neutrality? Building a town of energy saving, energy creation, energy storage, and energy coordination starting from Okazaki Castle Town"

Okazaki City website: https://www.city.okazaki.lg.jp/1550/1564/3512/p037111.html

2. Project Overview

(1) Commencement Date of Operation

Available from 6:00 PM on Wednesday, April 1, 2026

(2) Vehicles and Number of Units

Mitsubishi Motors Kei EV "eK X EV" - 2 units

*Based on the analysis of usage status, expansion of installation locations and number of units will be considered.

(3) Installation Location

Departure and arrival at Okazaki City Hall East Multi-story Parking Lot, 1-43 Ryōchō, Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture.

(4) Usage Hours

Monday to Friday: 6:00 PM to 7:00 AM the next day (fully available on holidays)

Saturdays, Sundays, Holidays, and Year-End/New Year Holidays (Dec 29 - Jan 3): 0:00 AM to 11:59 PM

*From 8:30 AM to 5:15 PM on weekdays (excluding holidays and Year-End/New Year holidays (Dec 29 - Jan 3)), the vehicles will be used as official vehicles.

(5) How to Use

After registering as a member, reservations can be made by downloading the car-sharing service app "N.mobi App"*9 onto your smartphone.

*9. When registering, an image of your driver's license (both sides) and a credit card in your name are required.

(6) Usage Fees

From 220 yen per 15 minutes* (tax included)

*Applicable when subscribing to the "Itsumo Plan" (monthly basic fee 1,100 yen (tax included)).

For the "Tama ni Plan" (no monthly basic fee), the fee is from 264 yen per 15 minutes (tax included).

3. Overview of Usage Method

To use the service, users must register as a member and make reservations, use, and return vehicles through the "N.mobi App".*10

*10. To use the service, you need to download the app and register an account from the dedicated website below.

N.mobi website: https://www.nttbizsol.jp/nmobi/

Scanning the QR code will take you to the "N.mobi App" membership registration site.

Please confirm that the URL is https://member.nmobi.jp/public/index.html.

*Please check the privacy policy on the linked page regarding the handling of personal information.

*Communication charges may apply when scanning the QR code. (Communication charges are the responsibility of the customer.)

*QR codes may not be readable on some models/OS.

4. Role Distribution

【Special Note】

With "N.mobi" and eMMP, some vehicle data that was previously acquired by aftermarket onboard devices can now be obtained through the connected functions of automobile manufacturers.

This allows for the minimization of onboard device requirements, which is expected to stabilize service operations and reduce the burden of maintenance work. By utilizing vehicle data provided by automobile manufacturers, we will achieve more efficient car-sharing operations.

5. Future Initiatives

Okazaki City has a higher car ownership rate compared to the national average, and automobiles are closely involved in the lives of its citizens. Decarbonization in the transportation sector requires a shift to next-generation vehicles such as FCVs and EVs, as well as the promotion of public transportation use, assuming behavioral changes by citizens and businesses.

Moving forward, we will encourage behavioral changes among citizens and businesses through public-private partnership initiatives like this project. Furthermore, Okazaki City will take the lead in electrifying its public vehicles and promote the adoption of next-generation vehicles with lower environmental impact by implementing subsidy programs for the purchase of next-generation vehicles for households and businesses, and by developing usage environments such as EV charging stations.

Additionally, NTT Business Solutions and the participating companies in this project will leverage their respective DX (Digital Transformation) and GX (Green Transformation) technologies, aiming to expand this as a model case for "Carbon Neutrality Domino Policy" to other municipalities and achieve carbon neutrality for society as a whole.

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