emade

What emade does

emade (株式会社イメイド), founded in June 2012 and incorporated in April 2017, is Okinawa Prefecture's first electric mobility manufacturer, headquartered in Uruma City. The company designs, manufactures, and maintains a portfolio of small electric vehicles — the CV-1 (1-seater, planned 980,000 JPY), CV-8 (8-seater), CV-10 (10-seater), folofly (commercial van/truck), SCOO (folding mobility), and the CV-1 Auto autonomous variant — alongside services including custom cart manufacturing, certified EV vehicle inspection (No. 1932), AGV deployment, and contract assembly. Its vertical technology stack covers in-house EV motors (88kW/210Nm) and controllers (100kW), lithium-ion Battery BOX systems with proprietary BMS in active and passive balance variants that have passed R100 certification and fire resistance testing, and FRP body parts manufactured via hand lay-up and RTM methods with proprietary metal-insert embedding know-how, all framed for subtropical climate durability. Strategic OEM partnerships with Yamaha Motor Power Products (YG-M) and the Sony-Yamaha SC-1 project provide third-party contract manufacturing revenue and validation.

The company's go-to-market is sales-led and event-driven, reaching enterprise customers through direct engagement with resort operators (Hoshinoya Okinawa, Halekulani Okinawa, Ritz-Carlton Okinawa, Kanucha Resort), local Okinawan governments via MaaS projects (Uruma City, Kumejima Town, with recent expansion to Utsunomiya City in Tochigi Prefecture), and healthcare/welfare facilities (Sophia Welfare Facility for AGV meal delivery). Revenue streams include hardware sales, professional services for custom manufacturing and maintenance, EV inspection, contract assembly, end-to-end vehicle development including electrification of existing platforms, and AGV-as-a-service deployment. The ECOMaaS project bundles mobility with renewable energy infrastructure (solar, wind, storage, EV charging), positioning emade as a regional platform rather than purely a hardware vendor. The company maintains wholly-owned subsidiary status under parent organization Monodukuri Network Okinawa (a non-profit foundation), with stated capital of 8 million JPY and cumulative disclosed seed funding of roughly 538K USD via J-KISS stock acquisition rights rounds between November 2024 and June 2025.

Name

emade

Legal name

株式会社イメイド

Website

https://emade-okinawa.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Okinawa-based electric mobility manufacturer producing 1-10 seater EV carts plus commercial vans for resort shuttle, government MaaS, and healthcare logistics, with in-house motors, BMS battery systems, and FRP body technology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Electric Mobility Manufacturing

NAICS

Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing (3363), Motor Vehicle Electrical and Electronic Equipment Manufacturing (33632)

SIC

Miscellaneous Transportation Equipment (3790), Motor Vehicle Parts & Accessories (3714)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYIMACACAI

EV Platform/Skateboard & Chassis Integration Manufacturing

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Automotive & Mobility Manufacturing/Electric Vehicle (EV) Manufacturing

SECONDARYTLAKAMAK

EV Retrofit & Electrification Conversions (Fleet/Commercial)

Transportation & Logistics/Vehicle & Equipment Maintenance, Repair & Services (MRO)/Battery, EV Charging & Electrification Service (EV/Hybrid)

SECONDARYTLAKAMAA

EV & Hybrid Battery Service, Diagnostics & Reconditioning

Transportation & Logistics/Vehicle & Equipment Maintenance, Repair & Services (MRO)/Battery, EV Charging & Electrification Service (EV/Hybrid)

Keywords

• Electric mobility manufacturing
• Low-speed electric vehicles
• EV carts and vans
• MaaS deployment
• Automated guided vehicles

Headquarters

HQ city

Uruma

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Electric Mobility Hardware Sales: Sale of proprietary electric vehicles including 8-passenger (CV-8), 10-passenger (CV-10), 1-passenger (CV-1) electric carts, and commercial vans/trucks (folofly). Primary revenue driver.
2. Custom Cart Manufacturing & Maintenance: Custom golf cart manufacturing, customization, and ongoing maintenance services for sold vehicles.
3. EV Inspection & Maintenance: EV vehicle inspection (shaken) and maintenance services. Certified inspection number 1932.
4. Assembly, Electrical & Fabrication Outsourcing: Contract manufacturing services including vehicle assembly, electrical wiring, and fabrication for third-party clients (e.g., Yamaha Motor Power Products, Sony Group/Yamaha joint SC-1 vehicle).
5. Vehicle Development & Electrification: End-to-end vehicle development services from planning through production, including conversion of existing vehicles to electric powertrains.
6. AGV Introduction & Maintenance: Automatic guided vehicle (AGV) deployment and ongoing maintenance for healthcare and facility operators.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

emade designs, manufactures, and maintains a portfolio of small electric mobility vehicles, including the CV series (1-, 8-, and 10-seater carts), the folofly commercial EV van/truck, and the SCOO folding mobility cart. The company also offers EV vehicle inspection services, custom cart fabrication, FRP body parts production, automated guided vehicle (AGV) deployment, and end-to-end vehicle development including electrification of existing vehicles, serving resort, tourism, government, and healthcare customers in Okinawa and selected mainland Japan markets.

Product overview

株式会社イメイド (emade) is Okinawa's first electric mobility manufacturer, offering a portfolio of electric carts and vehicles ranging from 1-seater to 10-seater capacity. The core product lineup includes CV-8 (8-seater), CV-10 (10-seater), CV-1 (1-seater, under development), folofly (EV commercial vans/trucks), SCOO (folding mobility), and CV-1 Auto (autonomous EV). The company also provides comprehensive services including custom cart manufacturing, EV vehicle inspection (certification 1932), and AGV (automated guided vehicle) systems. Technology offerings include in-house developed motors, controllers, battery systems with R100 certification, and FRP parts manufacturing using hand lay-up and RTM methods. The company operates under the ECOMaaS project framework combining mobility with renewable energy solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ECOMaaS: イメイド式地域振兴型ECOMaaSプロジェクト。防滅・常用蓄電装置・EV充電ステーション、太陽光・風力発電、蓄電装置貸出、地域交通EVモビリティ、農業×蓄電×モビリティ×IoT、研究開発・人材育成を推進。

Products and services

• CV-8 (8-seater electric mobility cart) Eight-passenger electric mobility cart in both public-road specification and resort/community variants, used for regional transportation, resort shuttle service, and tourist mobility. Delivered to Tsurubira Island (Uruma City) and as the first out-of-Okinawa deployment to Utsunomiya City Oya area.
• CV-10 (10-seater electric mobility cart)

Quantifiable outcome

• CV-1 range of 100km per charge with air conditioning, no vehicle inspection (shaken) required
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered high, core and minor.

• Turing Drive (台湾)highStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 January 2026emade signed a comprehensive partnership agreement with Turing Drive, a Taiwanese autonomous driving company. The partnership aims to develop autonomous driving capabilities for the CV-8 electric mobility vehicle, specifically targeting green slow-speed mobility applications.
• NTTデータオートモビリジェンス研究所 (NTT DATA Automotive Research Institute)highStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Joint development of the CV-1 Auto — a 1-passenger autonomous driving EV. The CV-1 Auto was exhibited at the 16th Automotive World trade show in Tokyo (January 2024). The base CV-1 vehicle is planned for commercial sale.
• Yamaha Motor Power Products (ヤマハモーターパワープロダクツ)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerManufacturing OEM partnership — Yamaha Motor Power Products contracted emade to manufacture the YG-M electric vehicle. emade developed FRP body panels using RTM molding and handles assembly. A separate partnership for the SC-1 vehicle involves Sony Group + Yamaha joint development where emade handles vehicle assembly and electrical wiring.
• Sony Group / ヤマハ発動機 (Joint SC-1 Project)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partneremade handles vehicle assembly and electrical wiring for the Sony-Yamaha joint development SC-1 (Smart Cart) vehicle, which is designed for commercial use in entertainment and mobility applications.
• Okinawa Startup Program Consortium (8 companies)minorStrategic or Co-development Partneremade was selected into the Okinawa Startup Program 2024-2025, a consortium of 8 local companies supporting startups through funding consideration, business matching, and networking. 60 companies applied, 7 were selected.
• 一般社団法人ものづくネットワーク沖縄 (Monodukuri Network Okinawa)coreOthersemade originated from the vehicle development division of this general incorporated association. All vehicle division members transferred to emade in April 2021. emade's full shares are held by this association.
• うるま市 (Uruma City)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUruma City and emade collaborate on multiple EV mobility projects including Tsukubushima EV deployment (CV-8 'Kyarorin'), local MaaS initiatives, and industrial promotion events.
• 久米島町 (Kumejima Town)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKumejima Town is conducting EV cart trial operations with emade vehicles as part of the Okinawa Regional MaaS Promotion Survey. The project was later selected for METI's Regional New MaaS Creation Promotion Project.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Club Car: U.S.-based manufacturer of golf carts, low-speed vehicles (LSVs), and small electric utility vehicles for resorts, hospitality, and commercial campuses. Closest direct peer to emade's CV-8/CV-10 product category serving the resort and short-distance mobility market.
• E-Z-GO (Textron): Owned by Textron, E-Z-GO manufactures golf carts, LSVs, and small electric vehicles for hospitality, resort, and last-mile applications. Directly comparable in product line and customer segment to emade's resort and tourism mobility vehicles.
• Toyota Auto Body (COMS / C+pod): Toyota group affiliate that produced the COMS ultra-small EV (same vehicle class as emade's CV-1). Toyota's broader small-EV lineup (C+pod, COMS) directly competes with emade in the Japanese micro/mobility category.
• AYRO: Designs and manufactures low-speed electric vehicles for last-mile delivery, campus mobility, and resort/hospitality use. Closely comparable small commercial EV peer with similar target verticals and product positioning.
• Garia (via EQATO Group): Danish manufacturer of luxury golf carts and small electric utility vehicles with strong premium-resort customer base. Closely comparable product positioning to emade's luxury resort CV-8/CV-10 deployments at Hoshinoya, Ritz-Carlton, and Halekulani.
• Melex: Polish manufacturer of small electric utility vehicles, including passenger and commercial variants for industrial, hospitality, and municipal use. Closely comparable product line and customer use cases to emade's CV-series and folofly commercial vans.

Broad incumbents

• Yamaha Motor: Japanese mobility OEM and emade's contract-manufacturing partner (YG-M). Yamaha produces golf cars, small EVs, and is developing next-generation low-speed mobility — competing in adjacent product categories while also being a direct customer.
• Polaris (GEM, Taylor-Dunn): Polaris's GEM and Taylor-Dunn brands produce small electric utility vehicles for campus, hospitality, and last-mile commercial fleets. A larger incumbent with overlapping LSV/small-EV products serving similar enterprise customer use cases.
• Honda (Micro Commuter / Mobile Power Pack): Major Japanese automaker with micro-EV and small mobility programs (e.g., Micro Commuter Concept, Mobile Power Pack ecosystem). Represents a large incumbent competing in emade's broader small-EV / mobility category with vastly greater capital and distribution.

Emerging players

• Waev (GEM, Taylor-Dunn, Tiger): U.S. EV manufacturer operating the GEM and Taylor-Dunn small utility EV brands with focus on last-mile, campus, and low-speed commercial applications. Comparable emerging player in the same small commercial EV category.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC50IEpfuQV7xxWaPi548IgA
• Facebookfacebook.com/emade.fb
• Xx.com/AkitakaIguchi

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about emade