Key Highlights
- Sony showcased a new EV prototype called Afeela during a presentation at CES in Las Vegas
- The vehicle will be manufactured by a joint mobility company between Sony and Honda
- A production version to use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Digital Chassis technology
During a presentation on Wednesday at CES in Las Vegas, Sony showcased a brand-new electric vehicle prototype dubbed Afeela. This car will be manufactured by Sony and Honda’s joint mobility venture which was first revealed in October. The joint venture’s first production electric vehicle, called Afeela, is scheduled to go on sale in North America in 2026. Also Read | Renault Arkana Coupe SUV To Be Revealed At Auto Expo 2023: Rivals, Expected Specs
The first cars will be delivered in North America in the spring of 2026, said Yasuhide Mizuno, CEO of Sony Honda Mobility, who stated that the company will begin accepting pre-orders for the vehicle in the first half of 2025. He said that to provide a special experience, the car would draw on Sony’s expertise in artificial intelligence, entertainment, virtual reality, and augmented reality.
“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,” said Mizuno.
The Japanese conglomerate’s close collaboration with Qualcomm on the car’s computing power was also made public. Additionally, Epic Games and Sony have partnered to integrate their technology, such as Unreal Engine 5, into the Afeela electric vehicle. The rendering of the infotainment cluster and the animations seen on the car’s screens will be done by the operating system of the automobile using Unreal Engine 5.
In March 2022, Sony and Honda announced their joint venture, in which they will collaborate on automotive and mobility technology. The collaboration combines Sony’s experience in image, networking, sensors, and entertainment with Honda’s competence in vehicle production, mobility technologies, and sales. The Afeela electric car will be manufactured at one of Honda’s 12 plants in the United States.
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