May Mobility Launches Autonomous e-Palette Deployment at Toyota Factory

May Mobility, a US-based autonomous driving technology company, has launched a corporate autonomous vehicle (AV) service that utilises Toyota’s e-Palette mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) vehicle platform at Toyota Motor Kyushu Co.’s (TMK) Miyata factory in Japan. The service uses a custom version of the e-Palette battery-electric vehicle and will provide a transit option for factory employees and guests.

In 2022, May Mobility was provided access to Toyota's next-generation e-Palette platform to install May Mobility’s technologies into the e-Palette platform, including its autonomous driving kit.

To prove the technology’s capability, May Mobility performed robust testing and evaluation in Japan, demonstrating key performance requirements and improved vehicle behavior.

The Toyota e-Palette is a battery-electric, mobility-as-a-service vehicle platform. 

The new service at TMK provides an additional transportation option to employees and guests during regular business hours, Monday through Friday.

The service route includes six stops at regular intervals through a designated zone or loop.

May Mobility has provided more than 400,000 rides in the US and Japan.

Edwin Olson, CEO and co-founder of May Mobility, says: “Our long-standing relationship with Toyota is key to driving innovation within the mobility-as-a-service space and I’m excited to expand our autonomous vehicle product offering with the e-Palette’s larger, EV form factor. Toyota’s e-Palette platform together with May Mobility’s technologies will help drive us toward our vision of greater transportation accessibility across Japan.”

May Mobility is backed by strategic partnerships with industry leaders, including Toyota Motor Corporation and NTT.