Suzuki Motor Corporation and Daihatsu Motor Company are joining the Commercial Japan Partnership (CJP) vehicle project to accelerate their carbon neutrality initiatives in minivehicles through the dissemination of CASE (Connectivity, Autonomous, Sharing/Subscription and Electrification) technologies and services.
As part of their participation in the project, Suzuki and Daihatsu will each acquire 10% of issued shares of Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies, the joint venture for the CJP initiative that was launched by Toyota Motor Corporation.
Minivehicles, in which Suzuki and Daihatsu excel, account for about 31 million of the approximately 78 million vehicles owned in Japan and serve as an essential lifeline in the daily lives of people, especially in rural areas. Also, mini-commercial vehicles cover areas that are accessible to them because of their size and support last-mile logistics. Although minivehicles can play important roles in the realisation of a carbon-neutral society and the spread of CASE technologies and services, in this era of profound transformation, there are many issues that manufacturers are unable to solve on their own.
CJP was launched in April this year to accelerate societal implementation and dissemination of CASE technologies and services by combining the commercial business foundations cultivated by Isuzu Motors and Hino Motors with the CASE technologies of Toyota while helping address various challenges facing the transportation industry as well as contribute to the achievement of a carbon-neutral society.
Expanding CJP to include minivehicles with the participation of Suzuki and Daihatsu will enable the promotion of improved integrated logistics efficiency spanning from large trucks to mini-commercial vehicles. This new collaboration also aims to disseminate affordable advanced safety technologies and electrification for minivehicles by leveraging Suzuki and Daihatsu’s strength of high-quality, low-cost manufacturing and Toyota’s CASE technologies.
The CJP collaboration aims to improving logistics efficiency by building a connected-technology infrastructure that links the main arteries of logistics (truck logistics) with the capillaries of logistics (mini-commercial vehicles). It also wants to expand the use of advanced safety technologies from commercial vehicles to minivehicles.
CJP wants to fulfill the automotive industry’s mission of “improving people’s lives” and “leaving a better Japan and a better planet for the next generation”.
Currently, Toyota have 60%, Isuzu (10%), Hino (10%), Suzuki (10 %) and Daihatsu (10%) stake in the 10 million yen initial share capital of CJP. Hiroki Nakajima, President of Toyota Motor Corporation’s in-house CV company, is the President of the association.
