May Mobility and NTT Mobility to Launch First Public Rides on Autonomous e-Palette

ANN ARBOR, Mich., and TOKYO, Sept. 3, 2026 - May Mobility, Inc. (“May Mobility”), a leading autonomous vehicle technology company, and NTT Mobility, Inc. (“NTT Mobility”) will accelerate their efforts to roll out autonomous driving services in Japan, with plans to deploy the Toyota e-Palette on public streets this year. This will be the first public road operation in Japan utilizing an autonomous e-Palette. Equipped with May Mobility’s autonomous driving system (ADS), the autonomous e-Palette platform will join NTT Mobility’s autonomous fleet in Japan.

To date, May Mobility has been conducting demonstrations and operating autonomous driving services in nine cities across Japan, including Tokyo, Nagoya and Hiroshima. 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 guests. Following that pilot, from March 2025 to March 2026, NTT conducted autonomous driving demonstrations using e-Palettes powered by May Mobility’s ADS on the grounds of the NTT Central Training Center in Chofu City, Tokyo.

May Mobility’s ADS builds a dynamic world model of the road from physics, traffic rules and local driving culture. Every 200 milliseconds, it imagines hundreds of “what-if” scenarios, and then its multi-policy reasoning engine selects from deep-learned and rules-based strategies, rejecting outright any it deems unsafe.

The e-Palette

Launched in late 2025, the e-Palette is a battery-electric vehicle developed by Toyota Motor Corp. specifically for mobility-as-a-service use cases and is a next-generation mobility solution designed to carry up to seven passengers and accommodate wheelchair users. It is designed to integrate with autonomous vehicle technologies and is equipped with redundant systems to ensure safety and reliability.

By deploying the e-Palette, May Mobility and NTT Mobility aim to enhance the rider experience, further improve transportation accessibility and provide a practical solution to Japan’s transportation challenges.

Upcoming e-Palette Deployments

In collaboration with May Mobility, NTT Mobility plans to begin public road demonstration tests using e-Palettes powered by May Mobility’s ADS at NTT Mobility’s Co-Creation Hub, an autonomous driving demonstration site, in the near future. May Mobility and NTT Mobility also plan to publicly deploy e-Palettes at multiple sites in 2026, with additional sites planned for 2027. Through year-round driving demonstrations at the Co-Creation Hub and selected cities throughout Japan, May Mobility and NTT Mobility fleets will build experience navigating commercial districts and residential streets with heavy car, pedestrian and cyclist traffic. The companies intend these deployments to serve as a foundation to demonstrate the technology and operational readiness required under Japan’s Level 4 certification program, which permits driverless operations in the country. 

“We’ve spent the last few years working closely with NTT to redefine transportation in Japan. 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,” said Dr. Edwin Olson, CEO and founder of May Mobility.

NTT Mobility also launched its NTT Mobility Operation Assist platform on July 8, 2026, to prepare for safe and streamlined Level 4 operations. Combining real-world public road testing with scalable remote monitoring and mission-critical communication, the Co-Creation Hub and NTT Mobility Operation Assist offer local governments and transit operators an end-to-end solution to overcome driver shortages and sustain regional transportation. 

Scaling and Driverless Operations

In anticipation of growing demand for autonomous driving in Japan, May Mobility and NTT Mobility will further expand their e-Palette fleet in fiscal year 2027, providing support to regions facing bus route closures and worsening driver shortages. By adding e-Palette models equipped with May Mobility’s ADS to their lineup, the companies will strengthen their ability to offer vehicles that meet differing size requirements across the country.

The companies also aim to expand their deployment and operational infrastructure, with the goal of achieving Level 4 (driverless) autonomy and accelerating their nationwide rollout.