Akinori Komura

What must not change

The first generation's cute design was popular, and it sold about 350,000 units in total, mainly to young women. That is why, Komura says, for the second generation he agonized over where to make changes and what must not change. He considered proposals that were 180 degrees different, but after his thinking came full circle, he arrived at changing the mood without greatly changing the exterior or silhouette. On top of that, he lined up two models with different values from the outset: the clean-designed "Stripes" and the upscale "Theory".