Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) is pleased to announce the commencement of a proof-of-concept (PoC) for a mobile convenience-store model in BSD City, Sinar Mas Land (SML)’s flagship urban development located in South Tangerang, the suburbs of the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, Indonesia. The PoC, which is to be conducted jointly with PT Lancar Wiguna Sejahtera (Lawson Indonesia), will test the feasibility of “Mobile Lawson,” a concept that leverages electric vehicle (EV) to help and enhance city services in BSD city.
1.PoC Background and Aims
MC’s latest business model focuses on combining platforms developed through digital transformations (DX) with energy transformations (EX) designed to reduce carbon emissions. This model encompasses MC’s smart-city-focused urban-development operations, which the company is working hard to grow into a new earning driver, both in Japan and throughout the world. A case in point is MC’s signing in March 2020 of a basic agreement with SML to enhance the value of overall BSD area of approximately 6,000-hectare BSD City. SML is Indonesia’s largest and most diverse developer with whom MC has been working together under the terms of this agreement for both urban management and the implementation of the smart and digital solutions in BSD City.
Surveys and interviews carried out with BSD residents last year shed light on the fact that BSD’s urban planning was implemented with the assumption that everyone travels using their car and this has triggered inconvenience among households and visitors who do not have access to the cars for their daytime shopping. This challenge of BSD has revealed a potential demand for shopping without having to use a car and with that being said, MC decided to start the PoC of Mobile Lawson project with Lawson Indonesia, who has been looking for new source of revenues other than from its traditional brick-and-mortar network. The model of vehicle employed by the Mobile Lawson project is Minicab-MiEV (Name in Japan), a onebox kei–car1 class commercial electric vehicle (EV)EV manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors Corporation.
1. Kei-car is a vehicle category in Japan for microcars.
This PoC represents MC’s third city-service undertaking with SML and this will be Indonesia’s first EV-powered mobile convenience-store. By improving access to retailers in BSD city, Mobile Lawson has the potential to improve accessibility in this motorized society. In addition to investigating the business’s commercial viability, the PoC’s objectives will be assessing needs of BSD City’s residents, workers and visitors, growing local recognition of the Lawson brand, and conducting field surveys for the purpose of accelerating Lawson Indonesia’s brick-and-mortar expansion plans.
MC looks forward to building on these activities to help increase the urban value of BSD City.
2.PoC Details
Period: Monday, October 30, 2023 – Sunday, March 31, 2024
Location: Several locations throughout BSD City
Summary: The Mobile Lawson convenience-store will be operated in several locations throughout BSD City. Its eco-friendly EV will offer many of the same products found in regular Lawson stores, including freshly ground coffee and popular oden dishes.
SOURCE: Mitsubishi Corporation
