​Sony and Honda formed an electric car development company in March 2022, and at CES, the two Japanese companies launched a new electric car brand, Afeela, and showed the first prototype. Dozens of Sony sensors will be used for serial cars, the Unreal Engine graphics engine will also be used, and Qualcomm processors will be present.

Sony and Honda presented a prototype sedan that, according to Sony’s boss, had 40 company-made sensors (video cameras, radar, ultrasonic sensors and lidar). The car will be able to recognize objects and people in motion and will have a high degree of autonomy.

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Sony Honda Mobility, founded in 2022, announced this fall that 2026 will see the launch of the first car jointly developed by the Japanese car company and the electronics giant. A launch in Europe is also being considered. Orders will be available from the first half of 2025 in the US, and the first cars will reach customers in the spring of 2026.

The cars will compete with brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volvo and Audi, so will cost tens of dollars. Sony said there will also be subscription services, so some options will only be available for a fee.

The collaboration between Sony and Honda shows once again that big tech companies need car companies – and vice versa. More and more technology is being implemented in cars, and car companies hope to attract more customers, especially young people. Electronics and technology companies also see an opportunity to capitalize on a variety of subscription services that will be available to drivers only if they are willing to pay a monthly fee.

In March 2022, Honda and Sony announced the creation of a joint venture for the production and sale of electric vehicles, with the first models expected to enter the market in a few years.

The first electric car will be released first in the USA, and then in Japan, and it will be a clearly premium model. A possible release in Europe is also being discussed, but it is still early days. Orders are accepted from 2025.

Sony will take care of the software, from everything that will be displayed on the board to cloud services for entertainment and payments.

Sony will also provide the various sensors as well as the technology needed for the car to have Level 3 autonomy, which means that at some points the driver will not need to give 100% of the driving experience.

Sony has a strong presence in sensor manufacturing, imaging technology, cloud computing, 5G and entertainment, so it is well-positioned to create electric cars with partner companies, cars that can use a lot of technology.

Sony has lost a significant share of the electronics market and exited some product segments, so entering a promising business with a major partner would be a good idea and would add a reliable source of revenue.

Honda, like Toyota, still has a small share of the all-electric car market, but wants to change that with a long-term plan to electrify the range with a $40 billion investment. A partnership with Sony could allow the company to grow in the premium car segment, where it is represented only in the US, with the Acura brand, which, however, sells 150,000 cars a year, far from the records of 2005 and 2006: more than 200 thousand

Honda will also produce electric vehicles with a long range under its own brand, the first model will be the Prologue, which will enter the US market in 2024.

Sources: The Verge, TechCrunch, Reuters