The German Design Council has honoured Asahi Kasei and its fully driveable electric vehicle AKXY with the German Design Award 2019 in the category Special Mention. The category acknowledges works with a design that offers particularly successful solutions and honours the commitment of companies and designers. Asahi Kasei received the award in the category Excellent Product Design – Conceptional Transportation. The award ceremony will be held in Frankfurt on 8 February 2019.

The German Design Award sets international standards when it comes to innovative design developments. It exclusively honours projects that are pioneering in the German and international design landscape. Design experts justified their decision as follows: “The concept combines all relevant vehicle areas – exterior and interior – into a progressive design that convinces in form and function right down to the last detail and thus provides a fascinating glimpse of the automotive world of tomorrow.”

“AKXY perfectly combines organic curves with inorganic straight lines,” explained Michitaka Udaka, Head of Automotive Marketing at Asahi Kasei. “I am delighted that this design, which embodies our ideal for the future of safety, comfort and environmental performance in the automobile, has received such prestigious recognition.”

Moreover, futuristic design would not be a contradiction to harmony with the environment, Udaka further said, and it would also offer an invitation to feel good. Components people have direct contact with would be characterised by elegant shapes and soft and warm materials.

Since its debut in Japan in May 2017, AKXY has been exhibited at trade shows, roadshows and customer events worldwide. “In September 2018, AKXY delighted more than 200 customers and journalists at our Business Forum in Düsseldorf. I am proud of this pioneering vehicle and the achievements of our designers and engineers,” added Hideki Tsutsumi, Managing Director of Asahi Kasei Europe.

Asahi Kasei will present AKXY for the first time at a European trade fair from 13-16 November, at the world's leading trade fair for electronics electronica in Munich.

www.asahi-kasei.co.jp