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WILLER and Mobileye to offer autonomous mobility solutions in Asia

Posted: 10 July 2020 |

Beginning in Japan, the companies will collaborate on the testing and deployment of autonomous and on-demand transportation solutions.

WILLER and Mobileye to offer autonomous mobility solutions in Japan

WILLER, one of the largest transportation operators in Japan, Taiwan and the Southeast Asian region, has announced a strategic collaboration with Mobileye, an intel company, to launch an autonomous robotaxi service in Japan and markets across Southeast Asia.

“Collaboration with Mobileye is highly valuable for WILLER and a big step moving forward to realise our vision of innovating transportation services: travel anytime and anywhere by anybody,” said Shigetaka Murase, Founder and CEO of WILLER. “Innovation of transportation will lead to a smarter, safer and more sustainable society where people enjoy higher quality of life.”

“Our new collaboration with WILLER brings a meaningful addition to Mobileye’s growing global network of transit and mobility ecosystem partners,” said Professor Amnon Shashua, Intel Senior Vice President and President and CEO of Mobileye. “We look forward to collaborating with WILLER as we work together for new mobility in the region by bringing self-driving mobility services to Japan, Taiwan and ASEAN markets.”

Together, Mobileye and WILLER are seeking to commercialise autonomous taxis and on-demand shared shuttles in Japan. Mobileye will supply autonomous vehicles WILLER will offer services adjusted to each region and user needs, ensure regulatory framework, and provide mobility services and solutions for fleet operation companies.

The two companies aim to begin testing robotaxis on public roads in Japan in 2021, with plans to launch fully self-driving ride-hailing and ride-sharing mobility services in 2023, while exploring opportunities for similar services in Taiwan and other Southeast Asian markets.

WILLER aims to unify user experiences across countries in the region; it released a MaaS app in 2019 and enabled a QR-code-based payment system this year. WILLER has partnered with Kuo-Kuang Motor Transportation, the largest bus operator in Taiwan, and Mai Linh, the largest taxi company in Vietnam, as well as invested in Car Club, a car-sharing service provider in Singapore. WILLER also partners with 150 local transportation providers in Japan.

The collaboration between WILLER and Mobileye aims to add a new transportation mode to the existing range of transportation services, including highway buses, railways and car-sharing. Adding autonomous vehicles, on-demand features and sharing services seeks to improve customer ride experiences and address social challenges such as traffic accidents, congestion, the shortage of drivers and the challenges resulting from Japan’s ageing society.