Sustainability of the automotive industry is expected to be a pivot of green recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The shift to EVs is accelerating, and governments are imposing tougher environmental regulations on materials, production processes, etc. As a direct answer to this trend, the AKXY2 proposes solutions based on materials and technologies. It uses a newly developed coating agent, which reinforces transparent resin. The new coating enabled not only the replacement of heavy glass with resin but also flexible design, which could not be achieved with glass.

Moreover, the AKXY2 is designed to reduce the environmental impact of each stage of its production process, proposing an approach to making the entire life cycle of automobiles, from production and distribution to disposal, more sustainable. A prominent example of a contributory factor can be found in its coating process. Among all conventional production processes, the coating process in particular has caused severe environmental pollution and has had adverse impacts on the health of workers. To address this issue, the AKXY2 uses more environment-friendly and safer surface coating. Furthermore, the AKXY2 is also made of novel materials developed through research on how to replace conventional raw materials with plant-based ones and how to recycle recovered materials. In this way, the AKXY2 embodies the ongoing pursuit of sustainability.

The satisfaction of automobile users depends on everything they experience on board, including the exterior and interior designs and functions, sounds, temperature, feeling of motion, the comfort level of the seat, touch, sounds of voices, and views from the windows. The AKXY2 features high-performance materials and electronics technologies tailored thereto, which have been especially selected from Asahi Kasei’s wide lineup of such materials and technologies.

In anticipation of a world that autonomous driving technology will permeate, the concept car also proposes a new form of satisfaction, which conventional vehicles could not have brought. The AKXY2 has very soft, movable cushion seats, instead of hard fixed seats. The seat layout can be changed, and the seats can be taken out of the car. The interior wall has a circumferential groove, into which you can insert a wooden table top. In addition, the carpet is changeable. The AKXY2 is therefore designed to enable users to customize the interior space as they like.

Strong trends toward changes, including the EV shift, have been bringing unprecedented ideas to the automotive industry, giving birth to unique designs and novel functions one after another into the world. The AKXY2 represents our belief that automobiles will provide more comfortable, freer spaces in the future. Why not experience the AKXY2 first-hand, by getting inside and touching it?

The COVID-19 pandemic has led people to reconsider their ways of using time and space. Some people now want to have their own room for remote work, while others now want to spend their time without close contact with other people. In response to this trend, the AKXY2 redefines an automobile as a private space where users can do what they want to while staying connected with society, whether or not the vehicle is moving. To realize the concept, the AKXY2 is designed to give users as great a feeling of openness as possible, with its entire upper half, including the roof, made of transparent resin, which is used as an alternative to glass. Users on board can see outside in all directions, 360 degrees, feeling as if they are in an open space despite actually being in a closed space. The AKXY2 is designed to allow users to sit on not only movable seats and sofas but also its front, rear and deck. Users can feel gently connected with the external environment, as if they are on an engawa (porch) of a traditional Japanese-style house.

Imagine driving to a campsite in a AKXY2 and gazing at the starry sky. You may park the AKXY2 on the roadside and enjoy a cup of tea with your friend. Or you can park it at your house and use it as your own room. We would be delighted if customers’ experience of the AKXY2 ignited their imagination to allow them to develop ideas for new uses for it or things they could do in it, and explore a new future for joyful automobiles together with us.