Not that Mazda needs any help with sales at the moment, they’ve been selling like hot cakes for several years now, but if the company adopts the super smooth ‘KODO’ design language as illustrated in the form of its SHINARI concept, then they’re going to sell a lot more cars.

The esteemed boss of Mazda’s design division, Ikuo Maeda, set out to create in his own words, a Mazda original and a Japanese original. With the SHINARI, he and has team have nailed the brief.

In broader terms, Maeda spells out what he hopes to achieve with ‘KODO’ in the following words:

“May goal is to create designs that people can point to proudly and say, ‘This is a Mazda design’. There is no need for Mazda to build cars for people who are only concerned with ‘style’ and ‘trends’. Whether working on sports cars of compact cars, I have always worked to create designs that evoke an emotional response in people and I hope to keep doing the same as I remain fully committed to develop designs for people who love and admire cars. It is my personal belief that the only way to create designs that fundamentally connect with people and to create designs they love, is if the people creating them are absolutely passionate about cars and are willing to make that passion a firm policy for design expression.

“Further, I consider it vitally important yo have awareness of Japanese originality in designing cars for Mazda. This is not merely about incorporating traditional Japanese elements into car design. So while I consider where this may lead in the future, my plan is to create cars that will be instantly recognizable as a Mazda, even if viewed from a distance. My ultimate goal is to create a brand presence that car lovers around the world recognize as representing both Mazda originality and Japanese originality. Future Mazda’s will move people physically and emotionally – that is ‘KODO – soul of Motion’”