On Friday, May 16, 2025, the Finnish company Patria Oyj announced that in September, its Japanese partners at Japan Steel Works will begin licensed production of the next-generation AMV XP 8×8 wheeled armored personnel carriers for the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (Rikujō Jieitai), as part of the WAPC (Wheeled Armoured Personnel Carrier) program.
Photos: Patria Oyj
According to Janne Pulkkinen, Technology Transfer Manager at Patria Oyj, the process will begin with vehicle assembly using parts and components imported from Finland. “Production will expand in Japan as our partner’s capabilities grow,” said Pulkkinen.
The main team from Japan Steel Works, consisting of 16 to 20 people, spent five months in Hämeenlinna, in the Häme region of southwestern Finland, learning the stages of AMV XP vehicle production. According to Pulkkinen, English is the working language at Patria Oyj, but the Japanese partners also had competent interpreters.
The Japan Steel Works team that underwent training in Hämeenlinna, together with their counterparts from Patria Oyj, assembled the first AMV XP unit, which has passed final verification and test drives, and is now ready for delivery to Japan.
Preparations for licensed production are also proceeding according to plan in Japan. The assembly of vehicles at Japan Steel Works is scheduled to begin in September. “Assembly facilities in Japan are currently being finalized to start operations in the fall,” Pulkkinen added.
Experts from Patria Oyj will be closely involved in providing technical support during the preparation and production ramp-up phases. Patria’s technology transfer specialists have extensive experience in their respective fields. “Experts specializing in assembly, electrical installations, and final verification will provide on-site support during production startup,” Pulkkinen emphasized.
On December 9, 2022, Japan’s Ministry of Defense selected Patria Oyj’s offer in the WAPC program to replace the Type 96 wheeled armored personnel carriers, which entered service in 1996 and are currently in use in a fleet of 365 vehicles. Competing offers from domestic company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries with the MAV 8×8 (Mitsubishi Armoured Vehicle), and Canada’s General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada with the LAV 6.0, were rejected.
The Finnish offer was preceded by trials conducted in Japan in 2020. Patria has been cooperating with Japanese partners under the WAPC program since 2018, and has also established a local subsidiary, Patria Japan Ltd., to support its operations in the Land of the Rising Sun. The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s requirement for new vehicles is estimated at several hundred units, with earlier reports indicating a potential need for as many as 400.
AMV XP 8×8
The AMV XP (eXtra Payload, eXtra Performance, eXtra Protection), first unveiled in 2013, is a heavier and modernized version of the AMV (XC-360P) wheeled armored vehicle. The new vehicle is equipped with a 612-horsepower Scania DC13 diesel engine with a displacement of 12.7 liters, a ZF Ecolife automatic transmission, and an Ametek 450 kW cooling system. It features larger 16.00R20 wheels with a central tire inflation system and Hutchinson Run Flat inserts, as well as hydropneumatic suspension with adjustable ground clearance. It offers an increased payload capacity of up to 15 tonnes and a maximum combat weight of 32 tonnes. The hull structure, suspension mounts, drive shafts, suspension system, and wheel hubs have all been reinforced.
The Patria AMV XP has so far been selected by Slovakia—under the name Vydra, equipped with the domestic EVPU TURRA 30 turret system—for the combat variant, and more recently by Slovenia. Previously, the AMV XP was offered—unsuccessfully—to the United Arab Emirates (with a BMP-3 turret) in its extended AMV XP L version, to Australia in the Mounted Combat Reconnaissance Capability Land 400 Phase 2 program (which chose the Boxer CRV), and to Bulgaria (which selected the Stryker ICV). It was also offered to Poland as the Rosomak XP for the Serwal program.
On May 8 of this year, the joint venture company EuroTrophy GmbH, based in Germany, announced that it had partnered with Patria Oyj to integrate the Trophy hard-kill active protection system (APS) with the AMV XP 8×8. A first demonstrator vehicle was presented to representatives of selected countries in March.
Patria’s vehicle production will soon start in Japan! 🛞🇯🇵
Patria’s partner Japan Steel Works is preparing to begin production of Patria AMV XP 8×8 vehicles in autumn. Stay tuned and read more about Patria’s technology transfer in Japan! 🤝
🔗 : https://t.co/rKFRjzBc08 pic.twitter.com/9S5XbyCyAE— Patria Group (@group_patria) May 21, 2025