Value Up

What Value Up does

Value Up Co., Ltd. (バリューアップ株式会社) is a Yokohama-headquartered Japanese motor industry technology company founded in March 2000 (originally as IT Support 21, rebranded in 2011) that develops proprietary unmanned rental car systems, welfare vehicle dispatch platforms, marketing consulting services, and OEM licensing products for automotive SMBs. Its flagship offering is the 24 Self-Service Rental franchise — a turnkey unmanned car rental package combining leased ARM (automated rental machine) hardware with proprietary operating software, marketed primarily to gas stations, maintenance shops, and used car dealers nationwide. In 2025 the company extended this platform with Value Assist Rental, a welfare vehicle rental service for the assisted-mobility segment, supported by patents 6842121 and 6750904 and a partnership with the National Council for Welfare Vehicles. The company also operates the SenshaPay car wash payment app and provides motor industry system development plus Google Partner-certified marketing consulting to automotive operators.

The business model is a hybrid of franchise royalties, hardware leases, system licensing, and professional services. Franchisees pay setup fees of approximately ¥700K–¥1.2M, recurring monthly fees of ¥79,800, and operating-fee shares of 3–5% of location sales; Value Up additionally generates revenue from leasing ARM hardware, selling management systems to 60+ external clients, OEM licensing arrangements, and marketing/consulting engagements. Capital stood at ¥10 million as of 2024 following an absorption merger and recapitalization, and the network has accumulated 1,000+ franchise signings with 500+ active stores as of 2021. Revenue and headcount are not publicly disclosed; the company's positioning is that of a niche platform vendor serving long-tail automotive operators in Japan.

Name

Value Up

Legal name

バリューアップ株式会社

Website

https://www.v-up.co.jp/en/

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Value Up is a Japanese motor industry technology company that operates the 24 Self-Service Rental franchise network, welfare vehicle rental platforms (Value Assist Rental), and provides proprietary management software, OEM licensing, and Google Partner-certified marketing consulting to automotive SMBs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Automotive Rental Franchise Services and Mobility Software Systems

NAICS

Passenger Car Rental (532111), Passenger Car Rental and Leasing (53211), Automotive Equipment Rental and Leasing (5321)

SIC

Services-Auto Rental & Leasing (No Drivers) (7510)

akta.pro primary industry

Car Rental & Car-Sharing Booking Platforms (BPAMAIAF)

Keywords

• Unmanned car rental franchise
• Welfare vehicle rental systems
• Automotive marketing consulting
• Mobility software development
• Automotive franchise operations

Headquarters

HQ city

Yokohama

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. 24-hour Unmanned Rental Car Franchise (24レンタカー): Franchise fee revenue from recruiting and supporting 24レンタカー franchisees across Japan. Revenue streams include initial franchise admission fees (¥700,000–¥1,200,000), monthly royalties (¥79,800/month), operating fee commissions (~3–5% of sales), ARM lease fees (~¥31,350–¥40,689/month), and system setup fees.
2. Welfare Vehicle Rental System (バリューアシストレンタカー): Two-plan SaaS-style rental management system — A Plan (¥49,800/month + ¥500/booking) for full portal + management, B Plan (¥29,800/month) for management-only. Includes vehicle management fees (¥500/month/car after 11th vehicle) and referral/transaction fees.
3. Marketing Consulting Services: Provides branding, design, web marketing, and consulting services to motor-related businesses (inspection stations, coating shops, body repair shops). Revenue from project-based consulting engagements including visual identity design, promotional materials, website production, SEO and web advertising operation.
4. Used Car Rental Franchise (バリューレンタカー): Used car rental franchise using competitively priced pre-owned vehicles, leveraging expertise from 1,000+ rental store operations. Proprietary reservation and vehicle management system developed from accumulated experience.
5. Co-creation Development / OEM Licensing: Customizes and licenses proprietary systems to third-party businesses as white-label OEM products. Also engages in new business co-creation with partners, leveraging accumulated motor industry know-how and patented system development capabilities.
6. Used Car Purchase & Sales (車買取バリューアップ): Used car buying and selling franchise business. Customer inquiries processed via dedicated portal, with franchise stores accepting vehicles.
7. Call Center Outsourcing Services: Provides call center outsourcing for rental car businesses, including support dial establishment for rental operators. Operates in-house call center handling 200,000+ user support interactions annually.
8. WEB Site Production & Advertising Agency: Website design, development, and advertising agency services. Produces websites for clients across car coating, inspection, body repair, and rental businesses. Recognized as a Google Partner, enabling web advertising operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Value Up operates a national franchise network of 24-hour unmanned self-service rental cars (24レンタカー) and provides proprietary mobility software systems, marketing consulting services, and OEM licensing to automotive businesses across Japan. The company also runs the welfare vehicle specialized rental system (バリューアシストレンタカー) and a used car rental franchise (バリューレンタカー), offering both franchise-based rental services and the underlying patented technology (24-hour unmanned rental system, welfare vehicle tax determination logic, ARM automated rental machine) to operators.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 24レンタカー: 24時間365日無人で運営可能なセルフレンターカーサービス。特許取得のARM自動貸渡機と予約システムを活用した無人レンタカーブランド
• バリューアシストレンタカー
• バリューレンタカー
• カーアシスト21
• 洗車Pay
• Car@mail
• CarPocket

Products and services

• 24 Self-Service Rental (24レンタカー) Franchise 24-hour unmanned self-service rental car franchise system operated across Japan, using a patented ARM (Automated Rental Machine) and reservation system. Franchisees include gas stations, used car dealers, maintenance shops, and parking operators that add a rental revenue stream using existing assets without dedicated staff.
• Value Rental Car (バリューレンタカー) Franchise Used car rental franchise using competitively priced pre-owned vehicles, supported by a proprietary reservation and vehicle management system developed from accumulated experience across 1,000+ rental store operations.
• Value Assist Rental (バリューアシストレンタカー) Welfare Vehicle Rental System Two-plan SaaS rental management system for welfare vehicles (A Plan ¥49,800/month with full web reservation portal, B Plan ¥29,800/month management-only) that automates complex Japanese consumption tax determination for welfare vehicles, supports inter-store shared inventory, and offers purpose-based vehicle search by use case (seat boarding support, wheelchair direct boarding, driving support).
• Marketing Consulting Services for Automotive Businesses Branding, design, web marketing, and consulting services targeting car inspection, coating, and body repair businesses. Includes unified visual identity, promotional materials, website production, SEO, web advertising operation, and system introduction (inspection management, call management). Provided as a Google Partner-certified agency.
• Car Assist 21 (カーアシスト21) Integrated Vehicle Management System Integrated database consolidating inspection/maintenance, light body repair, car wash, and point-card member data for automotive businesses. Supports multi-faceted customer/vehicle search, quote generation, report printing, and automated email notifications for inspection reminders and thank-you messages.
• SenshaPay (洗車Pay) Mobile App Smartphone application for car wash payment. Users select wash course and options, pay in-app, then scan a QR code at the facility. Includes coupon and stamp card features for customer retention.
• Co-creation Development / OEM White-label Licensing Customizes and licenses proprietary motor industry systems (including ARM, welfare vehicle rental platform, reservation systems, and vehicle management tools) to third-party businesses as white-label OEM products. Also engages in new business co-creation with partners.
• Value Up / 車買取りバリューアップ Used Car Purchase Franchise Used car buying and selling franchise with a dedicated customer inquiry portal processed by franchise stores that purchase vehicles.
• Call Center Outsourcing Services for Rental Operators Outsourced call center support and support dial services for rental car operators and franchisees, providing centralized customer and operator support infrastructure.

Quantifiable outcome

• Monthly sales per vehicle of ¥120,000 with vehicle profit margin of ~77% for regional-demand type 24 Self-Service Rental franchisee (2nd year of operation)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 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

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and moderate.

• National Council for Welfare Vehicles (全国総合福祉車両協議会)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Business partnership for welfare vehicle rental service development. The council, a general incorporated association, provides expertise and training for welfare vehicle operations. Value Up's welfare vehicle rental system (バリューアシストレンタカー) was developed with council involvement and ongoing membership referrals. Council membership is restricted to automotive businesses with 'certified factories' or 'designated factories'.
• MPC Corporation (株式会社MPC)moderateTechnology or Integration · 1 February 2007Technology partnership signed in February 2007 for development in vehicle system software and vehicle license plate automatic recognition technology. MPC provided specialized technical capabilities in automatic number plate recognition, which was integrated into Value Up's motor industry systems.
• Aioi Damage Insurance Co., Ltd. (あいおい損害保険株式会社)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2001Partnership through light repair estimate system 'BP Support 21' (BPサポート21) released July 2001. Insurance company partnership enabled integration of damage assessment and insurance claim processing into the motor industry system platform.
• Daido Tokyo Fire & Marine Insurance Co., Ltd. (大東京火災海上保険株式会社)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2000Strategic partnership in August 2000 for nationwide release of vehicle inspection support system 'Car Inspection Support 21' ( codingサポート21). Daido Tokyo Fire & Marine Insurance provided business partnership enabling nationwide distribution of the inspection system, marking the company's first major industry collaboration.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Times Mobility Co., Ltd. Japan's largest car rental and car-sharing operator, running the 'Times Car Rental' and 'Times Car Sharing' brands nationwide. Closest direct competitor in Japanese car rental at scale; competes for the same SMB operator partnerships and consumer rental demand that Value Up's franchise targets.
• Nippon Rent-A-Car Co., Ltd. Major Japanese rental car operator with hundreds of nationwide locations. Competes directly with Value Up's franchise network for consumer rental share and offers a parallel footprint for SMB partners considering rental add-on services.
• ORIX Auto Corporation: Large Japanese auto leasing and rental provider under ORIX Corporation. Comparable in serving corporate fleet, rental, and subscription demand, and has the capital base to develop unmanned/automated rental experiences.
• Toyota Rent a Car Japan: Toyota's nationwide rental car brand operating through dealer-affiliated locations. Comparable franchise-style model with OEM backing, and could leverage Toyota's resources to introduce unmanned capabilities.
• Budget Rent a Car Japan: Japan arm of global Budget brand operating franchised rental locations. Comparable franchise rental model and consumer-facing positioning to Value Up's 24 Self-Service Rental.
• Careco Co., Ltd. (Mitsubishi Motors): Unmanned car-sharing service operated by Mitsubishi Motors in Japan. Closest functional peer for Value Up's unmanned/automated retail rental concept; both target self-service, app-driven vehicle access for short-duration rentals.

Emerging players

• KyuCar Inc. Japanese car subscription platform providing short-term vehicle access without ownership. Addresses an overlapping mobility need via subscription rather than rental, but competes for similar urban consumer demand.
• Welby Corporation: Japanese platform focused on welfare and healthcare services including welfare vehicle information. Adjacent in the welfare mobility ecosystem where Value Up's Value Assist Rental operates; partial overlap on end-user welfare vehicle demand.

Regional players

• Avis Budget Group Japan: Japan arm of global Avis brand operating rental locations nationally. Comparable in rental car service but operates under a global franchise structure that limits its flexibility to introduce Japan-specific unmanned innovations.
• Hertz Japan: Japan operation of global Hertz brand. Similar profile to Avis Japan — established global rental brand with domestic Japanese franchise network, but operates a staffed rather than unmanned model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Value Up