Yamaha Motor - Unnan City Demonstration by Green Slow Mobility　- Supporting the creation of towns where people love walking -

IWATA, October 28, 2019 - Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (Tokyo: 7272) announced today that in collaboration with Unnan City and Takenaka Corporation and nonprofit organization ETIC, it would embark on the Green Slow Mobility Demonstration - a compact, golf car based, slow speed vehicle project for the main facilities in Yunnan City, Shimane Prefecture.

This initiative is based on the above-mentioned cooperation agreement between the four parties, concluded in April 2019 for the purpose of resolving regional issues in Unnan City, creating opportunities to use last mile mobility, and for local residents to go out. It aims to promote better health and communication within the community.

In Unnan City, as the proportion of people aged 65 and over increases year on year, there are many challenges for regional revitalization with community participation, and for solutions to social issues. Recent years have seen this city becoming a more vibrant place thanks to new ideas, resulting in the resident-initiated building of a healthcare network, more young people living and starting businesses there. The city’s initiatives for regional revitalization are some of the most progressive in Japan, which include the “Children's Challenge, Youth Challenge, and Adult Challenge,” where local residents work on themes according to their specific generation.

To date, the company has worked with Unnan City to help solve problems through promoting community-based activities, such as utilizing compact, low-speed electric vehicles for the purpose of solving the city's traffic problems and working with citizens in ideathons to create businesses.

This initiative forms part of “ART for Human Possibilities, Rethinking Solutions,” the company's medium- to long-term growth strategies. We will continue to work on solving important social issues such as transportation, health and industrial development through providing low-speed mobility options such as compact electric vehicles, electric wheelchairs, and electrically assisted bicycles as last mile movement solutions, “contributing to community-building with slow mobility” and “creating mobile value in line with Yamaha Motor’s beliefs.”

■ Project Outline

■ Collaborative Project Description

Agreement for the collaboration between Unnan City, Shimane Prefecture; Takenaka Corporation; Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.; and nonprofit organization ETIC (concluded on April 1, 2019)

■ Green Slow Mobility (GSM)

Electric mobility with a capacity of at least four occupants which can travel on public roads at speeds of up to 20 km/h. Aiming to provide transport options which are highly convenient for tourists and to help ensure that the elderly have a means of transport available to them, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and the Ministry of the Environment is promoting the spread of environmentally-friendly Green Slow Mobility, and is also supporting trial projects which tackle local transport issues.

■ Reference information

Agreement concerning collaboration between Unnan City, Shimane Prefecture; Takenaka Corporation; Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.; and nonprofit organization Etick (announced on April 11, 2019)