Here’s the electric car that Sony is going to build with Honda
Enlarge / Sony's automotive ambitions crystallized at CES 2023 with the debut of Afeela, a new mobility brand being developed together with Honda. (credit: Sony)
One of the more intriguing stories to have emerged from the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas over the past few years has been Sony's electric vehicle. The Japanese tech giant stunned people in 2020 when it debuted the Vision-S, a handsome EV designed to showcase Sony's sensors and camera tech on the outside and its entertainment portfolio on the inside.
The following year brought more developed prototypes of the Vision-S into view; then, in 2022, it took an SUV version to CES as well. At that time Sony told the media it was exploring commercial possibilities for a Sony EV, and last March it announced a strategic alliance with Honda, with the latter providing vehicle body engineering and after-sales support, and Sony providing the electronics, sensors, networking, telecom, and infotainment.
For CES 2023, Sony's automotive ambitions have become a lot clearer. Sony Honda Mobility, the joint venture, is launching a brand called Afeela, which it says is because "feel" is "at the center of the mobility experience," as people feel "mobility as an intelligent entity" and mobility feels "people and society using sensing and network IT technologies."