Japanese startup KG Motors (whose investors include Toyota Gosei) makes a tiny, affordable city EV called the MiBot. The single-seat MiBot is aimed at drivers who have short urban commutes—it has about 100 kilometers of range, a top speed of 60 km/h, and a rock-bottom price tag of ¥1 million (around $7,000).
KG delivered the first units in late December 2025. Now CleanTechnica reports that Idemitsu Kosan, one of Japan’s largest oil refiners and gas station operators, took an early interest in the electric runabout, and that company execs envision some interesting synergies with their business.
In January, the two companies signed an agreement to collaborate. Idemitsu will provide sales support, delivery handling, insurance services, and after-sales maintenance and parts support.
Idemitsu will provide e-mobility services on a pilot basis at some of its apollostation service stations in Tokyo and Hiroshima beginning in April—around the same time that KG Motors plans to bring the MiBot into mass production, beginning at a volume of 300 to 500 units per month.
Idemitsu plans to converts some of its apollostation locations to electrified energy hubs. Many of the stations already offer EV charging. Under the company’s new Smart Yorozuya (“many trades”) strategy, select locations will add shopping options, solar generation and renewable electricity supply.
Oil companies have been diversifying into EV charging for years. But as CleanTechnica’s Raymond Tribdino writes, this is a deeper collaboration that could become “a test case for how a legacy oil company can remain relevant in an electrified future.”
Source: CleanTechnica
