From the PresidentToward the Achievement of Our Long-Term VisionDevelopment of New BusinessesAmid dramatic changes in the external environment and accelerating diversification of people’s values, Yamaha Motor’s Long-Term Vision for 2030 of ART for Human Possibilities clearly states the value the Company would like to offer society and the direction in which we wish to move forward.In order to achieve our Long-Term Vision, over the dura-tion of our current Medium-Term Management Plan, we have leveraged fixed assets such as our core competencies and positioned the plan as a period to carefully assess busi-ness areas with the potential for sustainable growth while contributing to the resolution of societal issues, in addition to advancing the development of new businesses. Although our policy had been to carry out selection and concentration during the next Medium-Term Management Plan, we decided it best to fast-track our plans in consideration of the possibility that we may not be able to generate the medium-term cash flows we had expected to use as investment funds.Mobility services, low-speed automated mobility, agricul-ture, and laborsavings on the medical front lines are all fields in which we have maintained continuous involvement to date and where we can harness our strengths by applying our technologies and expertise. We will narrow down par-ticularly promising projects from among these fields and concentrate our resources therein going forward. While medical-related projects have stagnated slightly because of COVID-19, others are progressing steadily.In mobility services, we are seeing rising needs for last-mile deliveries and alleviating traffic congestion, particularly in emerging markets. To meet these needs, we aim to build a delivery and mobility service ecosystem by investing in platform operators in Africa and promoting collaborations that include the provision of our motorcycles, parts, and the like. In Japan, field tests for low-speed electric mobility solu-tions with vehicles based on our Land Cars are underway in various parts of the country. Also, since testing can be done in open fields, close-contact settings are not usually an issue in agriculture, thereby significantly reducing the risks associ-ated with COVID-19. Accordingly, we were able to carry out various tests and other projects, helping further our techno-logical development efforts.Carbon NeutralityEfforts to lower carbon emissions are accelerating world-wide, and in December 2018, Yamaha Motor formulated the Yamaha Motor Group Environmental Plan 2050, which lays out our stance, goals, and action plan as a company striving to realize a sustainable society. We have recently updated the plan with new targets set for achieving carbon neutrality not just in our business activities but throughout the entire life cycles of our products by 2050.For details, please read the Climate Change Initiatives section beginning on page 26 of this report.For a company such as Yamaha Motor, which has grown into what it is today through its engine technologies, we have no choice but to admit that the challenge of achieving carbon neutrality presents us with major risks. However, we will move forward with the electrification of our existing products from a defensive standpoint, but also go on the offensive by working to create new and unprecedented mobility.First, let me explain our defensive standpoint. With the electrification of our powertrains, we must give due thought to the two perspectives of 1) what our customers will con-sider as value and 2) the demands of society, such as stricter regulations. Although electrification is technically possible, creating a product truly in line with customer needs remains an extremely challenging task, as it is not at present possible to offer a product competitive in terms of cost, cruising range, and other factors. More realistically, we intend to electrify our existing products by carefully assessing value for customers, beginning with the small commuter vehicles that support daily personal mobility. While it will be no simple task to change these circumstances over the next 30 years, we will make each step of the way a sure and steady one.Next, I will turn to how we will go on the offensive. We will aim to create new and unprecedented forms of mobility by combining our mobility technologies based on small powertrains—a Company strength—with the robotics born of our production technologies. For example, our TRITOWN standing electric micromobility model with twin front wheels was developed wondering what we could achieve if we targeted the last-mile mobility segment. Although we are currently carrying out field tests, I hope to present this prod-uct to the world as a uniquely Yamaha proposal.With our other pursuits, we are not restricting ourselves to existing forms of motorcycles and are moving forward with 16Toward Sustainable GrowthYamaha Motor Co., Ltd. Integrated Report 2021
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