Four Major Automobile Leasing Companies Enter Business Tie-up with Mitsubishi Corporation Energy
Embarking on Digital Transformation of Vehicle Maintenance in the Automobile Leasing Sector with FLEET PITLOCK

The companies plan to commence operation of the platform in October 2022. Mitsubishi Corporation Energy will be in charge of FLEET PITLOCK’s development and operation, while the other four companies—ORIX Auto, Sumitomo Mitsui Auto Service, Nippon Car Solutions, and Mitsubishi Auto Leasing—will consider cooperation in the platform’s development and collaboration with their own systems. Through this tie-up involving the sector’s four leading companies, they will lead structural reforms in the automobile leasing sector, and at the same time, promote support for the streamlining of operations at automobile maintenance workshops, which are the companies’ partners.

■Background and purpose of service collaboration
1. Severe shortage of human resources and rising burden at automobile maintenance workshops
Automobile maintenance workshops are facing an extremely difficult situation in securing new human resources due to the need for attaining automobile mechanic qualifications (national-level qualification) and requiring a certain amount of experience to become proficient in maintenance techniques. With a society that is aging rapidly, there is a severe shortage of human resources. In addition, there is also rising burden placed on workshops in the learning of new technologies in line with the evolution of vehicles. Under such circumstances, there are more than a few workshops which close as well as certain regions where the shortage of manpower for maintenance is becoming a pressing issue. This business tie-up project was started against the backdrop of such a social issue.

2. Pressing need to improve efficiency of maintenance workshops
The automobile leasing sector lends vehicles (commercial vehicles such as trucks and vans, corporate vehicles, and family vehicles) to companies and individuals for long periods of time and also handles vehicle maintenance management such as vehicle inspections, repairs, and servicing. Maintenance workshops usually have contracts with several leasing companies to carry out maintenance. Besides the need to work with each leasing company’s in-house systems, there are still maintenance requests received through telephone and facsimile, resulting in a complex system for receiving orders. Given such an issue, promoting streamlining has been an earnest wish for many years for both the automobile leasing and automobile maintenance sectors.

3． Building of a sector-wide platform
To respond to these issues, Mitsubishi Corporation Energy will apply expertise from PITLOCK, an online system dedicated to the management of automobile maintenance that is being provided by its group company Car Frontier Co., Ltd. The five companies signed a joint agreement for a business tie-up aimed at developing FLEET PITLOCK, a common platform cutting across the automobile leasing sector that is dedicated to vehicle maintenance management, and spreading this platform across the sector.

Currently, automobile maintenance workshops check vehicle information, maintenance information, and invoice data through the respective in-house systems of several leasing companies for which they are contracted to conduct corporate vehicle maintenance.
In addition, the coordination of maintenance schedules with end users (drivers and vehicle management staff of corporate users) is usually carried out via telephone or facsimile, resulting in a situation where paperwork increases in complexity with the number of maintenance contracts with leasing companies and managed vehicles.
FLEET PITLOCK can significantly contribute toward improving efficiency at maintenance workshops that are contracted for corporate vehicle maintenance using the following four main functions.

1. Function that consolidates maintenance request data (including data on vehicles, customers, and contracts) from leasing companies and allows the data to be centrally viewed and managed
2. Function that allows schedule management through easily searching for vehicles that are due for maintenance each month and automatically sending out email notifications prompting online reservations
3. Status management function that allows maintenance status (within workshop, temporarily returned, etc.) to be confirmed and updated
4. Invoice management function that centralizes maintenance reports and invoice information addressed to leasing companies

In addition, besides maintenance workshops, end users can also make reservations for maintenance flexibly through the online reservation system. This helps to greatly improve the efficiency of coordinating maintenance schedules.

■Future prospects
Further improvement in efficiency at maintenance workshops and streamlining of operations across the sector will be sought by extending the platform to other operators—such as those in automobile leasing, car sharing, and vehicle rentals—and providing FLEET PITLOCK to operators that outsource maintenance operations to maintenance workshops.

■Overview of companies

●ORIX Auto Corporation

Head office	3-22-8 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Established	June 1973
Business description	Automobile leasing, rental, car sharing, and sales of used automobiles
Website	https://www.orix.co.jp/auto/ (in Japanese)

●Sumitomo Mitsui Auto Service Company, Limited

Head office	3-20-2 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Established	February 1981
Business description	Automobile leasing, purchase/sales of new and used automobiles, maintenance and repair, inspections and servicing, and financial operations
Website	https://www.smauto.co.jp/en/

●NIPPON CAR SOLUTIONS CO., LTD.

Head office	4-14-1 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Established	February 1987
Business description	Automobile leasing, outsourced maintenance, non-life insurance agency services
Website	https://www.ncsol.co.jp/ (in Japanese)

●Mitsubishi Auto Leasing Corporation

Head office	5-34-7 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Established	January 1972
Business description	Comprehensive solution services including automobile leasing and maintenance
Website	https://www.mitsubishi-autolease.com/ (in Japanese)

●Mitsubishi Corporation Energy Co., Ltd.

Head office	12th Floor, OteCenterBuilding, 1-1-3 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Established	October 1, 2015
Business description	Domestic sale and trade (export/import) of petroleum products, construction and operation of gas stations, and handling and sales of automobile-related goods
Website	https://www.mc-ene.com/en/

Contact Information:
Investor Relations and Sustainability Department
ORIX Corporation
Tel: +81-3-3435-3121

About ORIX:
ORIX Corporation (TSE: 8591; NYSE: IX) is a financial services group which provides innovative products and services to its customers by constantly pursuing new businesses.
Established in 1964, from its start in the leasing business, ORIX has advanced into neighboring fields and at present has expanded into lending, investment, life insurance, banking, asset management, automobile related, real estate and environment and energy related businesses. Since entering Hong Kong in 1971, ORIX has spread its businesses globally by establishing locations in 31 countries and regions across the world.
Going forward, ORIX intends to utilize its strengths and expertise, which generate new value, to establish an independent ORIX business model that continues to evolve perpetually. In this way, ORIX will engage in business activities that instill vitality in its companies and workforce, and thereby contribute to society. For more details, please visit our website: https://www.orix.co.jp/grp/en/
(As of March 31, 2021)

Caution Concerning Forward Looking Statements:
These documents May contain forward-looking statements about expected future events and financial results that involve risks and uncertainties. Such statements are based on our current expectations and are subject to uncertainties and risks that could cause actual results that differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, those described under “Risk Factors” in the Company’s annual report on Form 20-F filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and under “(4) Risk Factors” of the “1. Summary of Consolidated Financial Results” of the “Consolidated Financial Results April 1, 2020 – March 31, 2021.”