Gifu Prefecture's Ena City has begun its second year of pilot testing of an autonomous driving electric bus, aiming to achieve Level 4 autonomous driving by fiscal year 2027.

Macnica (Headquarters: Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Representative Director and President: Kazumasa Hara, hereinafter referred to Macnica) announced today that it will support the autonomous driving Social Implementation Promotion Project (General Support Project) adopted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism for autonomous driving EV bus project undertaken by Ena City, Gifu Prefecture. This project is the second year of demonstration operation, aiming to achieve autonomous driving level 4 by fiscal year 2027. In order to solve regional transportation issues caused by population decline and aging, the "Tono Region autonomous driving Promotion Consortium" ^*1 We will collaborate with them to verify safety and operational efficiency.

■Background/purpose
In Ena City, the challenges include addressing the shortage of public transport operators due to population decline and aging, as well as developing secondary transportation options in anticipation of the future opening of the Chuo Shinkansen maglev line, all aimed at realizing sustainable public transportation.
This year, as in the previous year, we have been selected for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's "Subsidy for Regional Public Transportation Security, Maintenance and Improvement Projects (Project for Promoting Social Implementation of autonomous driving)," and under the broad cooperation and collaboration of the "Tono Region autonomous driving Promotion Consortium," we will conduct demonstrations aimed at realizing Level 4 autonomous driving by fiscal year 2027.

■ Overview of the demonstration operation
・Implementing body: Ena City, Gifu Prefecture (in cooperation with the Tono Region autonomous driving Promotion Consortium)
• Demonstration details: With a view to achieving Level 4 autonomous driving, this project will conduct demonstration operations at Level 2.
• Test vehicle: EVO3 manufactured by Navya Mobility
• Demonstration period: From October 10, 2026 (Saturday) to December 12, 2026 (Saturday)
• Operating area: Ena City and Iwamura Castle Town sightseeing route (2.4km per loop)

■ Roles of each company
(1) Ena City
Operator of autonomous driving services, provision of driving routes, etc.
(2) NTT West Japan
Project management, overall requirements and configuration review, field verification planning and coordination, data acquisition necessary for driving, setup, operation of the demonstration vehicle, etc.
(3) Macnica
Provision of autonomous driving electric buses, autonomous driving electric bus engineering and support, establishment of operational systems, acquisition of data necessary for operation, setup, operation of demonstration vehicles, etc.

■Future developments
Through this year's demonstration operation, we will accumulate driving experience toward achieving Level 4 autonomous driving, and identify technical and operational challenges and countermeasures.
Going forward, we will further promote broad regional cooperation and collaboration within the Tono region, aiming to achieve Level 4 autonomous driving by fiscal year 2027 and the early social implementation of autonomous driving electric buses.

*1: Ena City, Tajimi City, Nakatsugawa City, Mizunami City, Toki City, and Gero City are participating.

*Company names and product names mentioned in this text are trademarks or registered trademarks of Macnica and each company.
*The information published in the news release (including product price, specifications, etc.) is current as of the date of announcement. Please note that the information may be subject to change without prior notice.