AKXY Concept by Asahi Kasei and GLM receives German Design Award 2019

Concept Cars 16 Nov 2018

The concept car was developed by the Japanese companies in 2017 as a drivable design study that promotes the use of advanced materials and technologies.

At the German Design Award 2019 the AKXY has been awarded in the Special Mention Category. The project was started by Asahi Kasei and GLM back in 2015 and was revealed in 2017 as a drivable concept vehicle.

The car is based on GLM’s electric vehicle platform and features a SUV body style.

It features a wide variety of Asahi Kasei materials, components, and systems – most of them available for adoption in mass-produced vehicles, including engineering plastics to replace metal and enable vehicle weight reduction, artificial suede for seats with superior comfort, and an in-car communication system utilizing various speech-processing technology.

The main dimensions are a length of 4,685 mm, a width of 1,813 mm, and a height 1,562 mm.

The cabin has a distinctive three-seating layout.

The concept is also equipped with a number of advanced technological solutions that have potential for commercialization in line with automotive industry trends for safe driving and accident prevention, including a contactless vital sign sensing system that is able to detect the pulse of drivers without their being aware of it, and CO2 sensors to monitor the in-car environment.

The name AKXY™ comes from Asahi Kasei X (multiplied by) You (the customer).

You can read more details about the design on this interview with designer Ryuhei Ishimaru (automatic translation from Japanese) or know more about the different materials and technologies on Asahi Kashei’s official website.

(Source: Asahi Kasei via Plastic Insight)