The HWE Puzzle, a Fortmarei-designed commercial EV in the KEI car segment, was unveiled at the Tokyo Mobility Show 2023. Puzzle transcends the traditional role of the commercial vehicle, supporting society in daily life and in times of disaster with unexpected additional features, expressing HWE’s core values of social contribution, sustainability and connectivity. The production version is scheduled to launch in 2025.

What makes Puzzle unique is that it has been designed not only for the owners of the vehicles and for the drivers inside, but for everyone around the vehicles as well.

Blurring the boundary between public space and the vehicle itself, Puzzle features publicly accessible AC outlets, USB ports, wi-fi internet connectivity and emergency tools. Roof-mounted solar panels ensure functionality even during prolonged power outages. The emergency tools – a first aid kit and a crowbar (the primary tool for clearing debris in disaster zones) – were carefully selected in collaboration with the Federation of BOSAI Education Japan, a disaster prevention organization. Like all HWE vehicles, Puzzle is connected to an AI powered software platform called MyHWE, further enhancing disaster response as well as optimizing delivery service and cargo management.

This extra functionality raises a question: how to keep the vehicle affordable? The answer is the Puzzle Design Approach. Dramatic simplification of parts allows them to recur and slot together like puzzle pieces. This way, the manufacturing process is more sustainable and less costly, leaving room for additional functionality.

Simplification of parts is done by applying four principles: flat surfaces, flush surfaces, edge-to-edge panels, and 90- and 45-degree angles. This is no longer ‘form follows function’, but rather, ‘function is form’.

Puzzle’s straight lines and right angles make for an exceptionally large and efficient cargo space. The flat surfaces also allow for the interior’s pinboard functionality, empowering drivers to customize their workspace and efficiently move private items from home to office, office to Puzzle, and Puzzle to Puzzle, increasing comfort during their workday.

The aesthetic of the Puzzle Design Approach, combined with a friendly facial expression inspired by an existing HWE product, results in a unique, modern, and approachable appearance.

Apollo G2J, designed by Fortmarei, is an Apollo Future Mobility Group’s drivable engineering prototype following two years of development on its journey toward a new electric sportscar.

It is developed to perform advanced testing to refine and validate the key powertrain, connectivity and wider digital ecosystem technologies that will underpin AFMG’s future electric sports car products. The Research and Development process for G2J and all future Group EV sportscar products will be led from the company’s European R&D center in Germany and uses the GLM EV platform. To fulfil its long-term commitment to building cars using the most advanced lightweight composite materials. The development program, therefore, incorporates advanced testing in carbon fiber construction, hinting at the future engineering direction for AFMG electric products.

The character lines that make up the exterior of the G2J are logically placed only around the air intakes. The surface movement created between those lines expresses the dramatic Apollo worldview more organically. As a technology showcase designed for a variety of technical tests, the design is expressed in a way that maintains a balance between cutting-edge engineering and exciting design. The placement of shut lines was also an important element in the surface composition, and we designed it while avoiding abruptly breaking up the flow of the surfaces. We used these prominent lines to consider the movement of the surfaces and put them together as a design that is only possible because of the shut lines. In particular, we incorporated ingenuity so that when the flip-up doors open, the dramatic and beautiful door shapes stand out in contrast to the simplicity of the body.

The interior design also takes as its starting point a design language that combines curvaceousness and high technology. Our goal was to design functional components such as the steering wheel, displays, air conditioning vents and switches in a geometric design, while giving dramatic movement to the large surfaces that connect them. Even the seemingly unique shape of the dashboard is composed of surfaces that connect the minimum necessary high-tech elements in a pure way, without changing the direction of the flow of surfaces or placing unnecessary character lines. The dashboard and armrests are placed as if floating on a simply designed carbon bathtub, contributing to the expression of lightness typical of a high-performance car. In the color material design, craftsmanship-inspired details are interspersed among the high-tech materials to create a futuristic interior space that pays homage to the history of the automobile.

We are proud to announce the launch of the GLM Mobility Scooter Concept, designed by Fortmarei.

Even though the way senior citizen interacts with their cars is often discussed as a social theme these days, in Japan, it seems that cars and Mobility scooter are rarely mentioned on the same line. Compared to cars, I feel that there are only tasteless options for mobility scooters. In this project, we designed a car that is not just a vehicle for the elderly, but a car that makes people want to drive it, even if they have to give up their car license.

The design theme of this project was “Extremely Gentle Form”. The design approach was inspired by “sphere” shape, developing the sculpture through sketches, while incorporating modern automotive trends and futuristic design thinking. We have focused on creating a coexistence of two contradictory elements: a friendly atmosphere for both passengers and pedestrians. This also contributes to the expression of these completely different characters in the same shape, whether it be a gentle or mischievous mood, depending on the color scheme.

As we proceeded with the design development, we were constantly thinking about how we wanted this car to transcend the boundaries of what it means to be a “senior citizen” and be something that the younger generation would want to drive as well. We believe that this concept is the key word in design that leads us to think of the car and the mobility scooter on the same level.

Kyocera’s Moeye concept car, designed by Fortmarei, was unveiled on September 29, 2020.

The Moeye is equipped with a number of Kyocera’s proprietary devices that delight the human senses of sight, touch, hearing and smell, making the car both safe and entertaining. In addition, ”optical camouflage” technology allows for partial transparency in the cockpit to widen the driver’s outward visibility.

Moeye’s design theme is ‘Time.’ This concept car is designed to embody the history of the automobile from the ‘traditional’ to Kyocera’s ‘car of the future.’ The exterior profile evokes a classic coupe, while the details and geometric form give a clear sense of the future.  While details on the exterior, such as  lights and door mirrors have been geometrically shaped to evoke a sense of the future.

The interior, which incorporates cutting-edge technology, has new shapes and warm textures that remind one of the era of hand-built craftsmanship. The cockpit features a minimalist design with a futuristic feel suitable for experiencing virtual reality. You can feel the future emerge from automotive tradition in ways that engage more of the five human senses, rather than shape and design alone.

Kyocera’s first concept car project was the one based on the Tommy Kaira ZZ, a project that Ryuhei Ishimaru designed when he was chief designer at GLM . This second project has been developed from scratch and represents Kyocera’s vision of the car of the future even more clearly.