 | |
Native name | ソニー・ホンダモビリティ株式会社 |
|---|---|
Romanized name | Sonī Hondamobiriti Kabushikigaisha |
| Company type | Joint venture |
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | September 2022; 2 years ago (2022-09)[1] |
| Headquarters | Tokyo Midtown East, 9-7-2,Akasaka,, Japan |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | |
| Products | Automobiles |
| Brands | Afeela |
| Owners | |
| Website | www.shm-afeela.com |
Sony Honda Mobility Inc. (Japanese:ソニー・ホンダモビリティ株式会社,Hepburn:Sonī Hondamobiriti Kabushikigaisha) is a Japanesejoint ventureautomotive company established bySony Group Corporation andHonda Motor Company in 2022 to producebattery electric vehicles.[2] The company will market its vehicles under theAfeela (Japanese:アフィーラ,Hepburn:Afīra) brand.[3][4][5]
The company plans to take pre-orders in the first half of 2025 and deliver the first cars to customers in North America in spring 2026. Production of the vehicle will take place at one of Honda's plants in the U.S.[6]
In January 2020, Sony revealed its first electric sedan prototype at the53rd Consumer Electronics Show. The vehicle was called theSony Vision-S. According to the company, the Vision-S incorporates Sony's imaging and sensing technologies. In contrast, Sony's artificial intelligence, telecommunication, and cloud computing technologies enable the continued updating and evolution of the vehicle's features.[7] A second concept car, an electricSUV was unveiled in January 2022 at the55th Consumer Electronics Show as the Vision-S 02, while the original concept wasretroactively renamed to Vision-S 01.[8]
In April 2022, Sony established Sony Mobility Inc. as their mobility service arm.[9]
In March 2022, Sony and Honda signed amemorandum of understanding to deepen the discussion and exploration of forming a strategic alliance between the two companies.[10][11] In June 2022, while still in the process of negotiating the details of the partnership, both companies announced that their joint venture company would be called "Sony Honda Mobility Inc."[12][13] The company was led by Yasuhide Mizuno,[14] who served as the head of Honda'sChina division until 2020.[15]
The company was officially announced through a press conference on October 13, 2022.[16] According to the company, it aims to become a software-oriented "Mobility Tech Company".[17]
On January 5, 2023, the company revealed its first electric vehicle prototype under the brand name Afeela at the56th Consumer Electronics Show.[18] The prototype was a four-doorsedan that was planned to be produced in the U.S. in 2026. The car featuresLevel 3 automated driving capabilities under limited conditions.
On January 6, 2025, the company revealed the production version of the prototype, called the Afeela 1, at the57th Consumer Electronics Show. Deliveries of the vehicle are expected to begin in mid-2026, and refundable reservations were opened.
In January 2023 at CES, the concept version of the Afeela 1, the Afeela prototype, was revealed. It is a four-door sedan that was announced to be available for pre-order in the first half of 2025, while initial shipments will be delivered to customers in North America in the spring of 2026. It has 45 cameras and sensors inside and outside the vehicle to ensure its safety and security. It will utilizeQualcommSnapdragonSoC hardware to run its infotainment systems, while the cockpit and software architecture has been developed byElektrobit Automotive, who also collaborated with Sony on software and UX for theSony Vision-S, its first prototype. The company will also integrateEpic Games'Unreal Engine into the vehicle's infotainment systems. The car will be manufactured at one of Honda's North American plants.[19][20][21]
The Afeela prototype appears as a playable vehicle inGran Turismo 7, added to the game in version 1.46.
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