Japan Mobility Show 2025: The Car That Becomes a Friend—The MAZDA VISION X-COMPACT and the Future of Car-People Relationships

Takahashi takes the stage at the Japan Mobility Show 2025 press conference to share the future envisioned by the Mazda Vision X-Compact.

The Mazda Vision X-Compact explores what “cool” means for Mazda today. Our “KODO Design” language has always expressed elegant beauty. But with this vision model, we wanted the entire car to express the idea of “solid move”—bold, sculptural movement with real presence. We combined that with the approachability of a compact car, crossing these elements (expressed by the cross “X” in the name) to create a compact car for a new era.

The Mazda Vision X-Compact made its debut at Japan Mobility Show 2025. By fusing a human sensory digital model with empathetic AI, the vehicle acts like a close companion that understands the driver’s emotions and actions and deliver a driving experience that expands the driver’s world.

Kaisei Takahashi, interior designer. While still in school, he encountered the Mazda Vision Coupe and Mazda RX-Vision and was so moved by their universal beauty that he joined Mazda. “A car is a space that people trust with their lives, so I’m constantly thinking about what materials, shapes, and uses work best,” he says. It’s this depth that keeps him engaged with interior design every day.

The sculptural design feels different from anything before. The inside out concept has real visual impact. The structure is exposed, connecting inside and outside, which I find really fascinating.

Ryotaro Yoshida. Working in the mass production development, he designs and develops switches for interfaces that connect people and vehicles. In his work he explores ways to develop and improve communication between people and cars.

Thank you. I intentionally designed it to draw the eye along the body color inside the cabin and naturally guide the gaze outward. Cars take you into the outside world, so even when inside the car, I wanted to give this feeling of being outdoors, to feel the wind. 

We deliberately kept the display small to avoid information overload. I want people to discover things by chance while driving. When the boundary between inside and outside the car dissolves, your world and community expand. I imagined it like a bicycle, something you can just hop on and ride around the neighborhood. Light, simple, approachable. Like a close friend. That’s the feeling I wanted.

Inside the Mazda Vision X-Compact, the body shell cuts across the interior, making you feel the car up close and creating a space where person and vehicle connect directly.

“I love open-top cars,” shares Takahashi. “I think that desire to feel the outdoors came through in the design.”

I research human emotions, especially the mechanisms of trust and attachment. I’m curious what you, Takahashi, think of as “conversation” in the context of cars and driving. In the past, conversation would mean listening to the engine rev and the sound of the car. But in this concept model, are you also thinking about conversation in the sense of verbal communication?

Yosuke Furuya. Drawing on his background in theoretical physics and observational astronomy, he applies the same lens he used to study the relationship between black holes and universe expansion to understanding the relationship between human emotion and cognitive function, bringing a unique approach to his research.

Yes, I am. I imagined the car sensing the driver’s emotions and physical condition, then using the display and lighting to suggest drive routes or destinations suited to their current state. But it shouldn’t just be visual, sharing smells from outside and engaging all five senses would be even better. If the car could automatically bring in outside air when it detects the pleasant scent of a fragrant flower, we could experience it together, in the same place and time. That kind of shared experience can create real attachment.

Concept image of the display in the Mazda Vision X-Compact, showing how the display enables conversations between driver and vehicle.

Takahashi working on the cockpit. He envisioned a space where you could have a natural conversation with the car, like talking with a close friend.

So the conversation is born from the driving experience itself. Very interesting. For example, when you grip the steering wheel, it could measure your heart rate and pulse. “You got great sleep last night!” or “Your posture has improved. That running is paying off!”—conversations that enable you to know yourself better. In that way, the car is both someone taking you places and an extension of yourself. A friend and a mirror reflecting who you are. You might even get in the car just to learn about yourself.

Our team is researching ways to draw people to new places and create serendipitous—or unexpected—encounters and discoveries. Standard navigation just shows you the optimal route from point A to point B. We’re thinking about systems that actively suggest detours. We’re also developing in-car features that turn the community into a playground when you’re driving, so the whole family can enjoy it together.

We want cars to be more than just transportation. We want to turn the journey itself into something enjoyable. Not just for the driver, but for everyone in the car.

Mariko Shimizu. Ph.D. in Behavioral Economics. She joined Mazda after resonating with Mazda’s Technical Research Center’s human-centric approach. Her research theme is “Co-flourishing: nurturing well-being in relationships with others,” which explores social connections and ripple effects.

If we can spread that enjoyment beyond the car to connect with other people, leading to serendipitous encounters, an even more interesting future might be waiting.

For example, cars with the same app could share recommended routes with each other. You might discover a wonderful place you never knew existed, or meet new people. Experiences like that would be amazing.

I agree. Connecting those experiences with the technology would be really interesting.

Communication technology that connects cars to the world and sensing technology that understands people are both developing rapidly. As we move forward, cars will connect more with the outside world, and they’ll also get better at reading the expressions and emotions of people in the car. The question is how to bring Mazda’s unique ideas to life.

Seiya Fujii. Working in technology development, he works on creating advanced model-based development environments. He supports human-centered value creation by analyzing and modeling human behavior and traffic patterns.

We’re also conducting research with the goal of using people’s movement as a trigger to create connections between people, cars, and society, raising the happiness level of entire communities. For example, my research has shown that when people develop connections with their local area and community and feel attachment to it, their traffic safety awareness increases. If Mazda cars could increase a community’s happiness just from driving around the area, that would be an incredible contribution to society. And I believe that’s what we should aim for.

As someone who works in interface development, I consider the physical feedback you  get when you operate the car one way to make people feel more connected to it. It can create a sense of intimacy.

In Mazda, there was a project to develop switches that make you feel “comfortably alert.” With switches, you define the specifications based on the stroke length when you press it and the force that pushes back. We ran experiments to figure out what specifications would create that “comfortably alert” emotional state.

First photo: Implementing switch designs that create a comfortably alert emotional state can enhance the connection between people and vehicles.

Second photo: Russell’s circumplex model. The switch development project targeted the upper right quadrant between “Pleasant” and “Activation.”

*1: Control device that operates navigation, audio, and other systems.
*2: Audio and air conditioning controls.

The Technical Research Center has measured brain activity using fNIRS^*3 to evaluate how comfortable the commander switch felt. We prepared different combinations of resistance forces, found the one that activated brain activity the most, and verified those specifications with vehicle development teams.

It’s not just about how comfortable the commander or other switches feel to operate. We’ve also used fMRI^*4, which measures activity across the entire brain, to conduct experiments revealing the brain science behind what makes control devices like steering wheels feel good to operate. This commitment to perfecting product quality based on an understanding of human nature runs through the entire development division.

When I first joined Mazda, I was surprised how far they’d go just for switches. I thought of a switch as something that completes an electrical circuit. But it’s so much more than that. With mass production vehicles, each switch has a different structure, and there’s production variation too, so hitting the exact specifications you’re aiming for is challenging. But we’re working to minimize the differences and variation between switches so every customer gets the ideal feel.

From a design perspective, if we could dig deeper into things like what shapes make you want to press them, we could make Mazda’s character even stronger.

It’s a bit nerdy (laughs), but I bet most people haven’t pressed every switch in their car. There are probably functions they don’t even know about. If the car could reach out and tell you about features you haven’t tried, showing that it’s trying to help, you’d feel affection toward it, and that would deepen the sense of it being a friend.

I see our role as creating mutual experiences where the car understands you and you understand the car. I’d say we’re halfway there.

A relationship between close friends needs emotional connections like attachment and trust. And when it comes to recreating this in a relationship with the car, building two types of trust is vital: cognitive trust and emotional trust.

Cognitive trust develops when the car consistently meets the driver’s expectation for support in stressful driving situations. Emotional trust grows when the car meets the expectation for thoughtful companionship. We’re running separate experiments to build each type of trust based on these hypotheses.

Animation shown at Mazda’s Japan Mobility Show 2025 booth. The car’s sensing function picks up on a woman’s heartbreak and invites her to go see the stars. Like a true friend , the car understands how she feels and helps lift her spirits.

Ultimately, through neuroscience research, I want to establish fundamental principles for how driving (and movement) can strengthen the bond between people and vehicles. Not just through operational feel in those immediate moments, but through emotional connections like trust and attachment.

Human research is a field that is drawing a lot of attention. I want to lead Mazda in this area and elevate our brand value.

Simple and compact, this friend is always there, encouraging you to try new things.

Attachment and trust are necessary when taking on new challenges. Our research has shown that in moments when people feel they’ve taken on a challenge or accomplished something, they recognize gratitude toward whoever supported them. If a car could become the kind of presence that gives you the courage to take that first step into a new world, and if you could overcome difficulties together, the bond would deepen even more. I believe that this kind of personal success has the power to nourish the roots of personal happiness, and create a positive cycle that ultimately spreads happiness throughout society.
There’s a concept called foundational resilience. It’s about building your own foundation to overcome negative things and accumulate positive experiences.

We think of it as “the power to live positively.” Positive emotional experiences are important for building foundational resilience, and emotional connections with cars are one element of that.

When you drive a Mazda, the car supports you in stressful driving situations, increasing your sense of security. As you continue driving that Mazda, your trust builds as you become confident it will help when you need it. Attachment grows because the car is always there with you when you go out, an irreplaceable presence. As the bond between you and the car forms and deepens, positive influences spread. It gives you the courage to go out and try something new, or meet new people.

We also need to consider the importance of personal development and how people change over the long term. A wonderful aspect of the Mazda Vision X-Compact concept is the idea that having a friend close by helps you become a slightly better driver, which in turn expands your world, and how you can see yourself grow through interactions with the car.

For destinations that can be reached on foot or with public transportation, you don’t need a car. But if you want to expand the variety of your experiences, walking or taking the train has its limits. You need a car. And if you’re going to use a car, we want it to make the experiences at your destination 300% more enjoyable. A car that shows you the way, experiences pleasant scents with you along the route, and discovers and shares new things with you. I’d love a car that could enrich my journey in this way.

If a car you’ve grown really attached to gets scrapped, just ending there would be incredibly sad. Even if the car’s form changes, it would be great if the contents could carry over. If it remembered your preferences and driving habits, if it could inherit all those memories, the bond would deepen as you age together. I’d love it if my car became an irreplaceable friend like that.

Takahashi stands before the vision model at Japan Mobility Show 2025. “I’d only been able to check CG and work-in-progress models, so I was anxious about how the finished version would look. But seeing it displayed at the booth, with its distinctive presence and quality, I felt assured that we’d made the right decisions.” he said, moved by the experience.

The team pose for a group photo after the roundtable. The passionate conversation brought together research and technology development from across divisions, all working to put Mazda’s approach to car engineering into practice.