Fuji, Japan – JATCO Ltd and HODAKA CORPORATION today unveiled a prototype electric-assist bicycle equipped with a JATCO drive unit. This prototype model is intended for mass production and is scheduled to be launched in the market by 2025. Prior to the unveiling, JATCO and HODAKA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the mass production of the electric-assist bicycles equipped with the JATCO drive unit. This will allow the two companies to work together towards obtaining certification.

JATCO, as an automotive transmission manufacturer, has delivered over 129 million automatic transmissions (ATs and CVTs) globally. With the electrification of vehicles, our plan is to provide e-Axles and other electrified powertrains to the market. We are also leveraging the technologies of our electrified automotive powertrains in developing a 2-in-1 drive unit that integrates an electric-assist motor for bicycles with a gearbox. Signing an MOU with HODAKA, JATCO will supply the drive unit to HODAKA for evaluation and certification from September 2024 onwards, which contributes to the company’s development, production, and supply of competitive electric-assist bicycles. The two companies will also cooperate to promote the sale of electric-assist bicycles equipped with these units.

With the conclusion of this MOU, Eiji Ogawa, Corporate Vice President and head of JATCO’s Business Development Division, stated: “HODAKA is one of Japan’s top manufacturers with a variety of its own brands ranging from city bicycles to sport bikes. We are very pleased that both companies are now aiming for mass production together. We believe that business with HODAKA will be an opportunity for us to be recognized for our drive units for bicycles, a new business initiative, from a wider range of customers in Japan. We also look forward to the further expansion of our business.”

Shoji Sasabe, HODAKA’s director and general manager of Merchandising & Development Department, commented: “JATCO’s drive unit is a 2-in-1 system which integrates a motor and gearbox, allowing for a compact and highly flexible design. We expect the same high level of quality JATCO has refined through their automotive transmissions.”

About HODAKA CORPORATION
HODAKA CORPORATION: A comprehensive bicycle manufacturer established in July 1972, HODAKA CORPORATION celebrated its 50th anniversary in July 2022. The company has developed its own brands: the KhodaaBloom, NESTO, and THIRDBIKES sports bike brands; the Marukin city bike brand; and the P&P COMPONENTS and BANANAWORKS parts and accessories brands. The company aims to develop bicycle culture with a number of brand ambassadors, including Yasuda, the leader of the Yasuda-Dai Circus and a comedian who likes bicycles. The company is a member of the Sports Yell Company of the Sports Agency of Japan and a member of Saitama Prefecture’s Environmental SDGs Initiative Declaration.

About JATCO Ltd
Headquartered in Fuji, Shizuoka, Japan, JATCO is a leading automotive transmission and electric vehicle powertrain manufacturer, specialized in the design, development, and manufacture of automatic transmissions and CVTs. In addition to plants in Japan, JATCO has production facilities in Mexico, China, and Thailand.

Attachments

• Bicycle prototype (angled view)
• Bicycle prototype (side view)
• Drive unit