Sharp sells all kinds of electronics, from TVs to air conditioners. It seems to be getting increasingly serious about entering the electric vehicle (EV) market with the second iteration of its 'LDK+' concept, which takes an unusual approach of being 'part of your home.'
Indeed, the LDK in LDK+ stands for Living, Dining, Kitchen. The big idea is that your vehicle will be an extension of your homestead, by serving as a recreational area and private meeting room when it's parked. It's also being envisioned running AI systems to talk to appliances inside your house to streamline your daily routine.
Step inside the rear of the large SUV and you'll find a console with a table and projector between the front and passenger seats. You can swivel the driver's seat to face the back and use the cabin to hang out like you would in a living room. Alternatively, pull down a large screen above the rear seats and fire up the projector to enjoy a movie or attend a virtual meeting.
It's interesting that the Japanese giant chose to depart from the original LDK+ concept it unveiled last September, which was similar but in a minivan form factor. That one had a rear row of seats that rotated to face the back of the van, where a 65-inch display would enthrall you with stuff to watch. It also had solar panels on its roof to power the car and juice up its battery to share with your home.
Sharp is the second major electronics company to wade into electric vehicle waters in recent years. Sony's teamed up with Honda to build its Afeela sedan, which is focused on a connected, luxurious experience in the cockpit with a range of driving assistance features. This US$90,000-ish model is set to roll out starting mid-2026 in the US.
Back to the LDK+. It's being designed to interact with your home solar and battery systems to manage charging and energy storage. Sharp says it could also talk to your connected household appliances, like your kitchen gear, air conditioning, and washing machine, though I fail to see the point of this – just as I haven't understood all these years why these devices need to have internet access at all.
You still need to manually load and unload your oven, microwave, and washer. What's a car going to do to help with any of this, besides add potential security vulnerabilities that hackers could remotely exploit to ruin your day?
In any case, Sharp is dreaming out loud regardless of what I think. It will debut the revamped LDK+ concept, developed by iPhone manufacturing partner Foxconn, on October 30 at Japan Mobility Show 2025 in Tokyo. We'll keep an eye on it to learn more about what the company has in mind for its home-extending electric car.
Source: Sharp
