ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Yoshihisa Suzuki, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that it has formed a capital alliance with Hiyacar Limited (headquartered in London, UK; Graeme Risby, CEO; Robert Larmour, COO; hereinafter “Hiyacar”) which operates a P2P (peer-to-peer) car sharing platform business in the UK. ITOCHU and Hiyacar aim to promote the car sharing business and develop it into a next-generation mobility business while building a framework for collaboration with ITOCHU’s existing businesses.

In recent years, P2P car sharing is accelerating in popularity due to smartphones and innovative connected car technologies. Hiyacar has created a platform that allows car owners to rent out their cars easily through the Hiyacar smartphone app and an IoT device. Users can also use these platforms to hire cars. Hiyacar company is rapidly expanding its market share in the UK.

Through its wholly owned subsidiary ETEL (European Tyre Enterprise Limited), ITOCHU is involved in the car servicing and repairs business under the KwikFit brand. KwikFit is market leader in the UK and Holland where it boasts a network of around 930 tire-fitting centers. Hiyacar aims to use ITOCHU’s links with KwikFit to provide safer higher quality services. For KwikFit, Hiyacar will serve as a point of contact with the new business of car sharing and is expected to provide momentum for the development of KwikFit’s own business into a next-generation business. Meanwhile ITOCHU will pursue the creation of new businesses in the next-generation mobility market, leveraging various types of data accumulated in connection with the P2P car sharing business.