At CES 2023, Sony announced the Afeela concept car, a collaboration with Honda under the company Sony Honda Mobility.
This development comes three years after Sony first indicated its interest in the electric car market with the unveiling of the S-Vision concept in 2020 and the S-Vision 02 SUV concept in 2022.
The Sony Honda Afeela concept car will offer “best in-class entertainment,” including movies, music, and games, utilizing Sony’s expertise in these areas. Qualcomm and Epic have also contributed to the creation of the Afeela.
“Afeela represents our concept of an interactive relationship where people feel the sensation of interactive mobility and where mobility can detect and understand people and society by utilizing sensing and AI technologies. For the design, we are taking an approach that aims to set new value standards for mobility as we evolve automotive design to focus not only driving dynamics and performance, but also on software networks and interfaces,” Yasuhide Mizuno, Sony Honda Mobility chief executive said.
The car is equipped with 45 sensors, including both interior and exterior cameras, and Sony is focused on both the software experience and driving dynamics.
Sony plans to open pre-orders for the Afeela in 2025, with sales beginning the same year, and aims to have the Afeela on the roads in North America by Spring 2026.
Last year, Sony and Honda announced a joint venture called Sony Honda Mobility to develop and manufacture electric vehicles. The company plans to start accepting preorders for its electric car in the first half of 2025, with sales beginning in the second half of the year. The first deliveries of the car are expected to be made to customers in North America in the spring of 2026.
