On December 23, 2022, Japanese company OpenStreet officially kicked off its newest electric vehicle rental service on the streets of Tokyo, called Hello Mobility. The service is a cooperative effort between the Softbank-backed OpenStreet and Gachaco, and makes use of both Gachaco battery swapping stations and Honda Benly e: electric scooters that are outfitted with top boxes for rider convenience.
For those unfamiliar, Gachaco is the electric vehicle battery consortium formed by Japan’s big four motorcycle manufacturers, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha, along with Japanese petroleum company ENEOS. In early December, 2022, the company opened its first two preliminary battery swapping stations in Japan.
