Cenntro Receives Japanese Kei Car Approval For its All-Electric Metro Light Duty Commercial Vehicle
Certification from the Japan Inspection Organization Designates Metro as the First Imported, Commercial Electric Vehicle for Urban Delivery and Service Markets
Approval opens Highest Growth EV Sector ahead of Local Brands
FREEHOLD, N.J., Nov. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cenntro Automotive (“Cenntro”, the “Company” or “We”), a leading EV technology company with advanced, market-validated commercial vehicles, today announced that its Metro light duty commercial vehicle has received Kei Car homologation approval in Japan.
Kei Car is the smallest highway legal light-weight vehicle type in Japan Cenntro’s Metro is now the first imported, non-Japanese made electric commercial vehicle to receive certification. The approval will open the Japanese urban deliver and service market to Cenntro’s Metro and allows it to be registered by end users for use on any street, including highways.
“We are pleased to announce that we are the first foreign company to receive electric Kei Car type approval and to receive it ahead of Japanese local brands,” said Peter Wang, Cenntro’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “This is a significant milestone for Cenntro, as the process of getting Kei Car type approval is extremely onerous for a foreign company and the designation. This is a testament to Cenntro’s leading technologies and understanding of local markets. With this approval, Cenntro is positioned to gain significant market share in the urban delivery and service segment, Japan’s highest growth vehicle sector in the world’s third largest market.
“Moreover, Japan is at the forefront of several trends affecting transport and logistics, including a labor shortage caused by population decline and the ‘hyperaging’ of its society. Many other developed countries will face similar challenges, creating additional demand for last-mile deliveries,” continued Wang.
The World Economic Forum’s “The Future of the Last-Mile Ecosystem” report recently projected that e-commerce distribution volumes in central Tokyo’s 23 wards will rise by 85% by 2030, requiring a 70% increase in delivery vehicles, each of which will need to cover an additional 25% in distance travelled. In addition to putting a greater strain on logistics operations, the rise in e-commerce is also likely to drive a 20% increase in carbon dioxide emissions, hence the urgency for an all-electric alternative.
“Japan is one of our strategic markets and is incredibly important for our continued leadership in the all-electric light commercial vehicle segment,” concluded Wang.
About Cenntro Automotive Group
A leading EV technology company with advanced, market-validated commercial vehicles, which has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Naked Brand Group Limited (NASDAQ: NAKD) with Cenntro’s shareholders to own approximately 70% of the combined entity on a fully-diluted basis. Cenntro leads the transformation in the automotive industry through scalable, decentralized production and fully digitalized autonomous driving solutions empowered by the Cenntro iChassis. Cenntro has sold and delivered 3300 commercial EVs in more than 26 countries as of Dec 2020. For more information about the company, please visit www.cenntroauto.com.
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