On April 13, 2025, the Osaka-Kansai Expo (EXPO 2025) opened in Yumeshima, Osaka.

While the giant wooden ring and the giant Gundam have attracted attention, the focus in the mobility industry has been on “flying cars,” and on April 14, a manned demonstration flight by LIFT was held at the Expo site.
Some OEMs are focusing on the development of flying cars, or air mobility, as a next-generation means of transportation, and there are proposals for various power systems, including electric and gas turbine hybrids, making the future evolution of this technology an exciting field.

While the demonstration flights of flying cars at the Expo site are exciting, behind the scenes, Toyota, Daihatsu, Subaru, Mazda, Suzuki, and ENEOS are cooperating to operate vehicles using synthetic fuel at the Expo site.
Synthetic fuel is an environmentally friendly fuel that absorbs CO2 when it is produced and is not too difficult to adjust on the vehicle side. Although there are issues to be addressed, such as fuel production volume and cost, the hurdles to future mobility are relatively low, and we expect the vehicle to be put into practical use at an earlier date.
This vehicle operation will be used for transportation for guests and related parties.

The Expo is an event that attracts people not only from Japan but also from around the world, and I believe that this is an excellent opportunity to promote next-generation fuels to consumers in Japan and around the world. It is also important to broaden consumer awareness by opening some of the vehicles to the general public.
We hope that this Expo will serve as a stepping stone toward the future commercialization of next-generation technologies such as air mobility and synthetic fuels.