Mobility service businesses pursuing the future possibilities of cars

To date, Sumitomo Corporation has been involved in nearly all aspects of the automobile industry, from manufacturing and sales of components and end products to after-sales service. Today, the auto industry has entered an era of radical, unprecedented change brought by the waves of electrification and advancements in information technology.

In order to offer greater values than before in this business area, Sumitomo Corporation endeavors to create businesses that keep in step of this new era by leveraging the businesses of its group companies like Sumitomo Mitsui Auto Service (SMAS), and in active alliance with partner companies . SMAS has a leading car leasing business in the Japanese market with the fleet of around 1,080,000 vehicles and 220,000 clients. In addition to its one-stop EV services, SMAS offers high quality holistic fleet management services that lead to digital transformation of fleet management. The Sumitomo Corporation Group also counts among its members electric vehicle (EV) businesses such as 4R Energy, which engages in lithium-ion battery reuse. Building on the strengths of these assets, experience, and know-how, Sumitomo Corporation is exploring new businesses in the four areas of 1) car sharing, 2) connected projects, 3) autonomous driving, and 4) electric vehicles.

In the field of sharing economy, we have been investing in the Japanese startup company “akippa” since 2017. akippa offers a parking space sharing service that allows users to easily rent out unused spaces such as uncontracted monthly parking spaces, private garages, vacant land, and commercial facilities as short-term parking spaces. Drivers can book and pay in advance via the web or mobile app. The service currently provides access to over 50,000 parking spaces nationwide, supporting a wide range of mobility needs.

Furthermore, akippa’s services have been connected with various businesses within the Sumitomo Corporation Group. For example, SMAS offers solutions for corporate clients to utilize idle parking spaces in collaboration with akippa. JCOM, a cable TV provider, utilizes the service for parking its sales and construction vehicles. Together with akippa, we are committed to further advancing the sharing economy and developing new mobility services.

Collaborations between Sumitomo Corporation and research institutions as well as venture companies are also underway in the area of autonomous driving, which seeks to achieve the deployment of fully autonomous vehicles that require no human intervention in their operation. Research and development is accelerating and creating a new car-leasing business model incorporating autonomous cars.

The corporate vision of the Sumitomo Corporation Group is to be a global organization that constantly stays a step ahead in dealing with change, creates new value, and contributes broadly to society. This corporate vision is perfectly expressed in the business style that involves creating new businesses by staying abreast of the latest trends, and collaborating with diverse partners in a speedy manner. The mobility service business, the most technically cutting-edge area within the Sumitomo Corporation Group, looks forward to meeting further new challenges.