Toyota and SoftBank Agree on Strategic Partnership to Establish Joint Venture for new Mobility Services

Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) and SoftBank Corp (Softbank) have agreed to form a strategic partnership to facilitate the creation of new mobility services. They plan to establish a joint venture company, MONET Technologies (MONET) before the end of the 2018 fiscal year (April 2019). The objective of MONET is to help realise a safer and more comfortable mobility society by combining SoftBank’s corporate philosophy – Information Revolution – Happiness for Everyone – with Toyota’s vision of Mobility for All.

The name MONET combines the first letters of the words mobility network. It was chosen to embody both companies’ desire to build a mobility network that provides safer and more comfortable mobility for everyone.

MONET will provide co-ordination between Toyota’s Mobility Services Platform (MSPF), Toyota’s information infrastructure for connected vehicles, and SoftBank’s Internet of Things platform, which was built to create new value from the collection and analysis of data acquired from smartphones and sensor devices. By using a wide range of data forms related to automotive and human mobility on both platforms, MONET is aiming to optimise supply and demand in transportation and, ultimately, to launch Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) businesses capable of resolving mobility issues and creating new value.

In the first phase, MONET plans to roll out just-in-time vehicle despatch services for local public agencies and private companies throughout Japan. These services, which will include on-demand transportation through regional partnerships and corporate shuttles, will be provided in line with user demand.

By the second half of the 2020s, MONET plans to roll out Autono-MaaS businesses using e-Palette, Toyota’s dedicated battery electric vehicle for mobility services; this can be used for various purposes, including mobility, logistics and sales. Possibilities include demand-focused, just-in-time mobility services, such as meal deliveries where food is prepared while the vehicle is on the move; hospital shuttles, where onboard medical examinations can be performed; mobile offices and many more. MONET also intends to introduce these businesses in Japan, with an eye to future expansion on the global market.

ENDS