May Mobility and NTT Mobility have begun public-road testing of a Toyota e-Palette equipped with May Mobility's autonomous driving system (ADS) at NTT Mobility's Co-Creation Hub test site in Musashino, Tokyo5. The operation marks the first time an autonomous e-Palette has run on public roads in Japan1,3.
The companies announced on September 3 that they plan to deploy multiple Toyota e-Palettes at several sites during Japan's fiscal year 2026, with the deployments targeting Level 4 driverless certification. The trial in Musashino is the first in a planned series involving multiple vehicle types and autonomous driving systems, with further demonstrations at additional locations during the current fiscal year.
Toyota launched the e-Palette in late 2025 as a battery-electric vehicle developed for mobility-as-a-service use cases, designed to carry up to seven passengers and accommodate wheelchair users. The vehicle integrates with autonomous vehicle technologies and is equipped with redundant systems for safety and reliability4.
May Mobility's ADS processes 200-millisecond world-model updates and evaluates scenarios through an engine combining deep-learned and rules-based strategies. The company has completed more than half a million commercial autonomous rides across deployments in the U.S. and Japan.
The partnership has been building toward this milestone over several years. In 2024, Toyota and May Mobility debuted a prototype of the e-Palette with May Mobility's AV technology at Toyota Motor Kyushu's Miyata factory in Fukuoka, providing transportation across the private campus for employees and guests2. From March 2025 to March 2026, NTT conducted autonomous driving demonstrations using e-Palettes powered by May Mobility's ADS at the NTT Central Training Center in Chofu City, Tokyo. May Mobility has operated autonomous services in nine Japanese cities since 2024, including Tokyo, Nagoya, and Hiroshima.
NTT Mobility, established in December 2025, launched its NTT Mobility Operation Assist platform on July 8, 2026, combining remote monitoring and communication infrastructure to support driverless operations and prepare for Level 4 certification. The companies intend the current deployments to demonstrate the technology and operational readiness required under Japan's Level 4 certification program.
"We've spent the last few years working closely with NTT to redefine transportation in Japan," said Edwin Olson, CEO and founder of May Mobility. "The next stretch expands the scale: more communities, bigger deployments, the first autonomous e-Palette on Japan's public roads, and riders getting where they need to go with no one in the driver's seat".
The companies plan to expand their e-Palette fleet in fiscal year 2027, adding vehicles to serve regions affected by bus route closures and driver shortages.
ANALYSIS The transition from private-campus trials to public-road operations represents a concrete step toward the Level 4 certification the companies are pursuing, and the driver-shortage framing positions the deployments as a practical transit solution rather than a technology demonstration. The autonomous transit push in Japan contrasts with the U.S. market, where recent moves by Uber and Zoox have centered on robotaxi ride-hailing rather than fixed-route public transit.