ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter "ITOCHU") announced today that ITOCHU has concluded a strategic partnership agreement with Dishangtie Car Rental (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Shenzhen, China; Zhang Haiying, CEO; hereinafter, “DST”), to which ITOCHU previously made a capital contribution. Under the agreement, ITOCHU and DST aim to establish a comprehensive leasing business for commercial electric vehicle (EV) all over ASEAN, including Japan, within several years. Plan to offer full range of service, from introduction to operation and management of commercial EVs.

Since its foundation in 2015, DST has expanded the comprehensive leasing service business, specializing in EVs for logistics in China, the world's largest EV market. DST currently manages and operates 40,000 commercial EVs in around 200 cities across Mainland China and is driving commercial vehicle electrification in China as industry leader. ITOCHU made a capital contribution to DST in 2018 and has been collaborating with DST to help expand its business in China. ITOCHU and DST share the view that the recent global decarbonization trend will accelerate across ASEAN including in Japan. The two companies have agreed to work together to expand the business globally, and to leverage the knowhow DST has developed in China, including its ability to select and procure vehicles and its knowledge of EVs and battery management systems, and ITOCHU's overseas network.

In accordance with the Partnership Agreement, ITOCHU and DST will establish a joint team of global expansion specialists with a view to accelerating business expansion. Progress has already been made with partner selection and business verification in Japan and Singapore, and similar discussions are expected to get underway with partners in other ASEAN countries.

Global demand for electrification is increasing in transportation sector, which is responsible for a large share of greenhouse gas emissions. ITOCHU aims to create a comprehensive service by not only providing vehicle as hardware, but also providing service which address issues associated with the electrification of vehicle such as charging, power management, and reuse of secondary EV batteries. By supporting the decarbonization of transport operations, it will contribute to ITOCHU’s basic policy under the medium-term management “Contribute to and strengthen the initiative for the SDGs”, and move forward to realization of decarbonized society.