Expansion into Sharing Business and Strategic Collaboration with akippa Inc.

Sumitomo Corporation (head office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Kuniharu Nakamura) has concluded a business collaboration agreement with akippa Inc. (head office: Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture; President & Representative Director: Genki Kanaya), a parking lot sharing platform.

Sumitomo Corporation and akippa will work together to fully cultivate corporate demand, promoting the use of akippa’s parking lot sharing services by Sumitomo Corporation affiliates such as Sumitomo Mitsui Auto Service, which has auto lease agreements for about 600,000 vehicles, as well as their business partners, and will develop a system for coordinating sales efforts.

Most sharing services at present, such as ride sharing and accommodation at private residences, are designed to meet needs between individuals. Nevertheless, with similar needs between companies expected to rise rapidly as they seek to cut costs and make more effective use of their assets, the demand for sharing is forecast to see further expansion, with individuals using parking lots owned by companies, and companies using parking spaces at private residences.

In view of these circumstances, Sumitomo Corporation has turned its attention to the parking lot sharing business, characterized by a ready synergy between the needs of companies and individuals, and this has led it to seek a strategic partnership with akippa. The two companies have agreed to discuss capital participation in akippa, personnel exchange, overseas expansion and other approaches that will help build more solid relations between them.

Value creation in the automobile industry is likely to shift in future from the ownership of automobiles as “tangible” assets to “services” such as auto leasing and sharing. As connected cars become more popular and automatic driving technology evolves, the era of owning automobiles will give way in the near future to an era of mobility services using automobiles as services. Sumitomo Corporation has its eye on this mobility service domain and, starting from its strategic partnership with akippa, will approach this business even more strategically.