Invests in Navya Mobility to further accelerate the implementation of autonomous driving services in society

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West Corporation (headquarters: Miyakojima-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture; Representative Director and President: Kitamura Ryota; hereinafter "NTT West") and Macnica (headquarters: Kohoku-ku, Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture; Representative Director and President: Kazumasa Hara; hereinafter Macnica) have signed an agreement to invest in Navya Mobility SAS (headquarters: Lyon, France; CEO: Jean-Claude Bailly; hereinafter "Navya") ^{* 1} with an eye toward resolving social issues such as a reduction in route bus operations due to a driver shortage that is a concern as a result of the 2024 Problem. The investment will further accelerate the social implementation of autonomous driving services and contribute to solving social issues in local governments.

*1 Navya is a company with more than 120 engineers with expertise in autonomous driving software development, vehicle implementation and operation. The 15-seater autonomous driving EV buses "ARMA" and "EVO" for urban and suburban areas are a leading company with a track record of selling more than 200 units in 26 countries around the world. In May 2023, GAUSSIN SA and Macnica established a joint venture, GAUSSIN Macnica MOBILITY SAS, to acquire the assets of the former Navya, and in June 2024, Macnica acquired all of the common shares held by GAUSSIN SA, making it a wholly owned subsidiary. In conjunction with Macnica 's additional investment, NTT West Japan has decided to make a new investment. Accordingly, the new company name will be changed to "Navya Mobility SAS". In addition, the investment by both companies and the name change will be officially completed after CSE approval (workers' representative body), competition law confirmation and authorization from the authorities in accordance with French law.

1. Background
Social issues such as maintaining regional transportation and driver shortages in the transportation industry are becoming more serious due to labor shortages caused by the declining birthrate and aging population, and the 2024 problem of restrictions on driver working hours in the logistics and transportation industry. To solve these social issues, there is an urgent need to realize sustainable public transportation and logistics using mobility technologies such as autonomous driving. In addition, the revised Road Traffic Act will come into effect on April 1, 2023, allowing autonomous driving level 4 ^{* 2} vehicles to be driven on public roads, and momentum is building for the social implementation of autonomous driving services.
Given this background, NTT West Group and Macnica entered into a business partnership in the field of autonomous driving on August 2, 2023. ^*3 By promoting efforts toward the social implementation of autonomous driving with local governments and transportation companies, more than 10 projects have been selected for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's "Subsidy for Regional Public Transportation Assurance, Maintenance and Improvement Projects (autonomous driving Social Implementation Promotion Project)" in fiscal 2024.
In order to further promote the social implementation of autonomous driving in Japan and provide more customers with safer and more secure autonomous driving services, we will invest in Navya, which has many autonomous driving verification and implementation cases both domestically and overseas and possesses key autonomous driving technologies, and will establish a system for the continuous supply of autonomous driving services.

*2 Fully autonomous driving under specific conditions: The system performs all driving tasks under specific conditions.
*3 Press release dated August 2, 2023: "NTT West Group, a pioneer in smart cities, and Macnica, a world leader in autonomous driving electric buses, partner on next-generation regional transportation systems." https://www.ntt-west.co.jp/news/2308/230802a.html

2. About the investment
① Invested company: Navya Mobility SAS
② Representative: Jean-Claude Bailly
③ Address: 1 Rue du Docteur Pierre-Fleury Papillon Villeurbanne,(69100) France
④ Business Description: Sales of 15-seater autonomous driving EV buses "ARMA" and "EVO" for urban and suburban areas, and development of next-generation autonomous driving buses. Development and sales of autonomous driving tractors for transporting cargo on private property.
⑤ Investment ratio: NTT West Japan 29.15%, Macnica: 70.85%

3. Purpose of investment
Since forming a business alliance in the field of autonomous driving, NTT West and Macnica have provided total support for the smart mobility of regional transportation, from consulting on demonstration experiments and full-scale implementation to designing operation routes and setting up operation centers, as well as providing one-stop services such as optimal model design and related services such as networks and charging equipment for the realization of smart cities.
Through our investment in Navya, we aim to strengthen our supply chain from upstream to downstream, including our development and provision capabilities for autonomous driving vehicles and autonomous driving systems, and to establish a seamless scheme that can respond to customer needs more quickly than ever before, from consulting to construction, implementation, maintenance and operation, in preparation for the social implementation of autonomous driving.

4. Future outlook
This investment will help resolve social issues such as maintaining regional transportation and the 2024 Problem, as well as revitalizing regional areas. It will also help realize Level 4 autonomous driving services in approximately 50 locations by fiscal 2025, as targeted by the government, and in more than 100 locations by fiscal 2027.
For the time being, the company will work to provide services in the community bus field through collaboration with multiple local governments facing transportation challenges, and in the future will expand its menu of autonomous driving vehicle models.
Even after autonomous driving is implemented in society, we will continue to support the lives of local governments and residents through the further development of next-generation regional transportation systems, leveraging Macnica 's technological capabilities and the NTT West Group's community-based consulting and social implementation capabilities, and maintaining close communication with stakeholders such as local governments and regional transportation operators.
In order to develop and expand the autonomous driving business in the future, we will build a system that provides a total framework for the spread of autonomous driving services, including autonomous driving vehicles, autonomous driving systems, communication networks, remote monitoring systems, remote monitoring services, and on-site response services, and will build a foundation for realizing various MaaS services in areas such as medical care, government, retail, and logistics.

Image of regional revitalization aimed for by the "next-generation regional transportation system"

5. Contact for inquiries regarding this matter
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West Corporation
In charge of autonomous driving electric buses
Person in charge: Miyazaki, Koyama, Taniguchi
Email: ev-bus@west.ntt.co.jp
TEL: 06-6335-9253

Macnica
Innovation Strategy Business Headquarters Smart City & Mobility Business Department
Person in charge: Fukuda
Email: auto-solution@macnica.co.jp
TEL: 045-470-9118

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