Introducing an Asia DX Company that Uses Digital Technology to Solve Social Issues in Asia (3)

Terra Motors Corporation is a Japanese venture making big inroads in India. As well as the world’s No. 3 auto market, India is also an emerging leader in electric vehicles (EVs). The Government of India has set a goal of increasing the share of EVs of all two-wheeled and three-wheeled vehicles to 80% by 2030 as part of its efforts to reduce green-house gas emissions.

In 2010, only two years of the Company’s launch, Terra Motors had achieved annual sales of over 3,000 EVs in Japan. However despite this early success, the Company’s path to business growth has not always been smooth and the company has faced several tough challenges over the years due to fluctuating demand in major markets like India. In response, Mr. Ueda, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Terra Motors leveraged lesson learned from his time working at a major Japanese manufacturer to promote a corporate culture with a focus on customer perspectives and taking a hands-on approach. In this way, CEO Ueda succeeded in overcoming setbacks to grow Terra Motors’s business. Under his leadership, the Company was able to grow its business in Bangladesh and shift its business operations to concentrate on the Indian market to take the advantage of the opportunities there from new laws and regulations. Since this transformation, Terra Motors has secured a significant share of the three-wheeled EV industry in India.

Reimagining Transport Infrastructure from the People’s Perspective

Building on its presence in India’s three-wheeled EV market, Terra Motors next goal is the realization of the “Terra Big Data Base Concept.” Alongside the Company’s drive to expand sales of EVs, Terra Motors is also launching new services. These include financial services and developing EV charging infrastructure, as the Company transforms itself into a provider of end-to-end solutions for the EV industry. The Company collects and collates data related to the introduction of IoT to commercial EVs, customers and their payment habits, driving patterns and product defects. Then Terra Motors converts the data into OpenAPI files. Through this approach, the Company aims to leverage this data for marketing purposes as well as develop smart city initiatives, potentially in partnership with local government.

Rather than affluent consumers, Terra Motors is targeting Indian consumers at the low end of the economic pyramid with an income level of about 8 dollars per day and those in the lower-middle-income bracket with average income of 15 to 30 dollars per day. Specifically, Terra Motors has developed loan services targeted at lower-income consumers who plan to use EVs for commercial uses, to earn a living. Terra Motors believes that these step-by-step approaches to developing products for people in the income brackets that account for the majority of India’s population will enable broader initiatives such as the Big Data Base Concept.

Support from The Government of Japan through the Asia DX Project

METI continues to actively support Japanese firms like Terra Motors which are committed to leveraging digital transformation (DX) in partnership with companies across Asia to solve social issues.

Under the FY2019 Asia DX Demonstration Project, METI provided support to Terra Motors for developing and piloting advertising software for installation in the Company’s EVs. For more information, visit the METI webpage about the Asia DX project.

Asia Digital Transformation (ADX) Policy Office

Reference Links

• Asia Digital Transformation (METI Website)
• Measures to supporting companies for pilot projects (JETRODX Portal site)
• Terra Motors (TOYOTA Website)
• Introducing an Asia DX Company that Uses Digital Technology to Solve Social Issues in Asia
• Asia DX Companies that Solve Social Issues in Asia