Sony and Honda revealed Afeela as a joint electric vehicle product. This announcement was made at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) which took place in Las Vegas, at the same time as the introduction of the first prototype car.
This first prototype is a four-door sedan that is fully powered by electricity.
“The company’s mobility philosophy prioritizes creating vehicles that have autonomous capabilities and are converted into mobile entertainment spaces,” said Kenichiro Yoshida, CEO of Sony, citing Tech Crunch.
The company announced first orders of Afeela are scheduled for the first half of 2025 and sales begin the same year. Meanwhile, initial deliveries to customers in North America begin in spring 2026.
Sony and Honda previously said that collaborative electric car products would be produced at Honda factories in North America. The designed car will have Level 3 automatic driving capabilities in limited conditions.
Level 3 autonomy means the car can drive automatically in certain situations such as traffic jams, but a human driver must take over the wheel when the system requests it.
“We plan to explore the possibilities of how media can create fun and exciting mobility interactions,” Yoshida said.
This prototype is equipped with 45 cameras and sensors inside and outside the vehicle to ensure safety and security. Sensors in the cabin will monitor the driver’s status based on conditions to prevent accidents.
“Afeela will also provide best-in-class entertainment for customers,” said Yoshida.
The car will also have Epics Games’ Unreal Engine, a 3D computer graphics game engine. This system is said to not only help visualize in-car entertainment, but also communication and security.
“In addition to movies, games and music, we envision new in-cabin experiences using our expertise in UX and UI technologies,” said Yoshida.
Honda and Sony announced in March 2022 that they were forming a new company to develop electric cars. Sony Honda Mobility was then founded in September with capitalization of US$68 million, the two parent companies own 50 percent shares.
Honda will work to produce electric cars and their safety technology. Meanwhile, Sony is in charge of making software and entertainment technology, citing Nikkei Asia.
