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Revealed at the Japan Mobility Show 2025, Mazda’s new Vision X-Coupe concept is fantastic in the original sense of the word. A sleek sports coupe shaped by the brand’s ‘Kodo-Soul of Motion’ design language, it promises to not only embed a Knightrider-style AI personality designed to form an emotional connection with its owner over time, but to clean up the atmosphere as it goes. Hey, you can’t fault ambition. The Vision X-Coupe is powered by a plug-in hybrid system that pairs a newly developed two-rotor rotary turbo engine with an electric motor and battery, delivering a combined output of 510PS. The system claims to provide up to 160km (99 miles) of electric-only range and a total driving range of up to 800km (497 miles). In a bold appeal to sustainability, the concept also features a proprietary technology called Mazda Mobile Carbon Capture. Mazda claims that when the car is run on carbon-neutral fuel, such as that derived from microalgae (ask your local petrol station), the onboard system can capture CO2 from the atmosphere, contributing to a net reduction in atmospheric carbon dioxide the more the vehicle is driven. Often hailed by the fossil fuel industry as the saviour of climate change, carbon capture and storage is a largely unproven, prohibitively expensive and unscalable technology. Moreover, fumes from ICE exhausts also include more harmful pollutants than carbon dioxide, like carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons. Alongside the planet-saving coupe, Mazda also revealed the Mazda Vision X-Compact, a small urban vehicle with an AI personality built in. The concept proposes a future where an “empathetic AI” acts as a friend to the driver – the vehicle would engage in natural conversation, proactively suggest destinations and build an emotional connection with its owner over time, representing Mazda’s vision for a more integrated and personal form of smart mobility. Masahiro Moro, president and CEO of Mazda, says: “under the shared global mission of achieving carbon neutrality, Mazda believes that the joy of driving can be a force for positive change for society and the planet. We remain committed to fulfilling the desire of those who love cars and wish to continue driving as long as possible.” As well as the two future-facing concepts, Mazda also gave the all-new Mazda CX-5 its first-ever public display at the show. The latest generation of the brand’s best-selling model, which has sold over 4.5 million units globally, features a refined Kodo design, a spacious interior and a new Mazda E/E Architecture+ designed to enhance the car’s ‘jinba ittai’, or oneness between driver and car.
