Navya, a leading company in autonomous driving systems, strengthens its partnership with Macnica, Inc. and continues its development in Japan.
Navya has identified Japan as a high-potential market: the shortage of drivers combined with increased transportation needs, particularly for the elderly, and a strong appetite for technological innovations make the solutions developed by the Company attractive.
Macnica, Inc. showcased Navya solutions at Automotive World in Tokyo. The Autonom Shuttle Evo, the latest-generation shuttle, exhibited for the first time in Japan at Macnica’s booth.
New experiments in more complex environments
Since May 2017, Navya is working with BOLDLY (ex.SB Drive Co., SoftBank’s subsidiary dedicated to autonomous mobility), its preferred partner in charge of deployment and supervision services. As such, BOLDLY has acquired solid expertise and has carried out overall more than 50 deployments, transporting more than 23,000 passengers in the country.
During the second half of 2020, several Autonom Shuttles have notably been deployed at the following sites:
–Sakai-Town: this is the first public service of autonomous road mobility open in Japan. Initially planned for April and then postponed to the end of November due to the pandemic, the 3 shuttles operated by BOLDLY cover a 5.3 km in the city centre. They cross 6 crossroads with traffic lights, connecting medical facilities, post offices, schools and banks in the city. With this service, Sakai Town offers its residents an innovative mobility solution that makes their daily lives easier while reducing traffic and improving road safety;
–Haneda Innovation City: having carried more than 13,000 passengers since 18 September 2020, an Autonom Shuttle runs on open roads within a 700 m route located in Haneda Innovation City. The special feature of this route is that a large part of it is under the building. However, the vehicle is able to maintain an accurate and reliable position thanks to our intelligent lidar sensor localization technology developed by Navya, making it a real technological feat. This project, led by the Kajima group, leader of the consortium, is the first time ever in Japan that an autonomous shuttle operates regularly in a smart city, called “HI city“, which has been selected as a model project for smart cities by the Ministry of Transport; Yuki Saji, CEO of BOLDLY commented: “We believe that the solution proposed by Navya will address the challenges currently facing Japan, such as the shortage of drivers. We expect Navya to be a major player in the field of Level 4 autonomous mobility.“
Transfer of exclusive distribution in Japan by ESMO Corporation to Macnica, Inc. and sale of 4 ORNANE
Macnica, Inc, an international electronics and digital solutions group, with a turnover of around 5.2 billion dollars and 3,500 employees worldwide, is the exclusive distributor of Navya in Japan, and is also in charge of operational support (maintenance activity). Macnica and Navya share a common vision of autonomous passenger mobility to jointly transform the transport system in the coming years and meet the major challenges of Japanese society.
In February 2020, ESMO Corporation transferred 4 ORNANE (Bonds repayablein cash and/or new and/or existing shares) to Macnica, Inc. for an amount of €4 million. This transfer reflects Macnica, Inc.‘s confidence in Navya‘s technology and know-how, placing their partnership in a long-term perspective.
Atsushi Sato, Executive Director and General Manager of Macnica, Inc: “We are very satisfied with our collaboration with Navya, which began in February 2020 and which is gradually being strengthened thanks to the experiments currently underway in Japan. We are convinced that our technological and financial partnerships with Navya will enable us to accelerate the deployment of autonomous vehicles on the Asian market“.
Etienne Hermite, Chief Executive Officerof Navya, concludes: “Following the strong partnerships built in South Korea and Singapore, Navya is gradually becoming the leading partner in Japan for the supply of level 4 autonomous driving systems. The business momentum recorded in the second half of 2020, the strengthening of our collaboration with Macnica. Inc. are evidence of Navya’s ramp-up and are the basis for long-term development in this region”.