• Press Releases

Announcement of Asahi Kasei’s next-generation concept car AKXY2™

Proposal of new value for vehicles focused on 3 themes

May 18, 2022
Asahi Kasei Corp.

Asahi Kasei announces a new concept car AKXY2™ focused on 3 themes essential for heightening the value of future vehicles. It will be exhibited from May 25 to May 27 at Automotive Engineering Exposition 20221 in Yokohama, Japan.

Asahi Kasei announced its first concept car AKXY™ in 20172, and vehicle interior concept mockup AKXY™ POD in 20193. The name derives from Asahi Kasei X (multiplied by) You (the customer).

As the automotive industry rapidly evolves and society is dramatically transformed by the pandemic, it caused Asahi Kasei to reconsider value proposition in this field. Asahi Kasei took a different approach from the previous AKXY™ concept car series to create AKXY2™. AKXY2™ is focused on the three “S” themes of sustainability, satisfaction, and society, indicating sustainable vehicle manufacturing, greater satisfaction for users, and connection between vehicles and society.

Sustainability
Sustainability including climate change is an urgent issue that the world needs to address with no exception for a manufacturing company to deal with by concentrating its wisdom. AKXY2™ features materials and technologies of Asahi Kasei that can contribute to sustainability now and in the near future when demand will continue to increase.
Satisfaction
Satisfaction is deeply connected with all senses and intuition as well as emotional and physical contentment. While meeting higher requirements of universal values such as comfort, AKXY2™ realizes satisfaction from a different approach than has been conventionally applied to automobiles.
Society
Thinking about the future of mobility from the perspective of changes in society is a core theme of AKXY2™. By providing a private space to enjoy individual activities, and a space that fosters not digital but actual experience and communication, AKXY2™ proposes richer fulfilment as an automobile and a platform not only for Asahi Kasei’s products and technologies but also to inspire the future of mobility.

Through full collaboration with European and American sites of Sage Automotive Interiors, Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of Asahi Kasei, an abundant line-up of automotive interior fabric is showcased, enabling higher customization of the interior compared to the first AKXY™. As for utilization of the interior space, concepts for potential synergy with the Homes sector of Asahi Kasei are proposed to enhance collaboration with customers and end users. The functions of the door and canopy open/close switches and the heating seats are achieved in collaboration with UltraSense Systems, Inc.4, a company in which the CVC Office of Asahi Kasei has invested, as well as other companies.

Asahi Kasei will continue to comprehensively propose a wide range of key items which contribute to improved vehicle safety and comfort, and increased environmental contribution, based on accurate perception of changes in society, and through deeper connections with automotive-related customers.