{"id":39583,"date":"2023-01-04T21:30:19","date_gmt":"2023-01-05T02:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=39583"},"modified":"2023-01-04T21:30:19","modified_gmt":"2023-01-05T02:30:19","slug":"sony-will-build-and-sell-their-electric-car-afeela-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=39583","title":{"rendered":"Sony and Honda will sell their electric car, ‘AFEELA,’ in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For the fourth year in a row, Sony brought its electric car prototype to CES to show it off to a global audience. But this year we finally got what we\u2019ve wanted all along: a production date. We also got a name: \u201cAFEELA.\u201d<\/p>\n

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According to Sony\u2019s presentation, the car will start US preorders in the first half of 2025, and the first shipment will be delivered to North American customers in spring 2026.<\/p>\n

In terms of specs, we didn\u2019t hear a whole lot new this year. Presumably it will have the same or similar specs as were announced originally \u2013 400kW (536hp) dual-motor all-wheel-drive, 0-100km\/h (0-62mph) in 4.8 seconds, and a top speed of 240km\/h (149mph). We still have no information on price or battery size.<\/p>\n

Sony highlighted its electronics expertise by focusing on the car\u2019s sensing and infotainment abilities. The vehicle will have 45 sensors for autonomous driving (up from 40 in last year\u2019s presentation) and will include advanced entertainment options within the car.<\/p>\n

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Sony thinks that its entertainment and software expertise will allow it to provide a better in-car connected experience than traditional automakers. It plans to have continually updated software in the AFEELA, something that many automakers have promised but have been slow to deliver<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Gaming in cars has been a bit of a trend in recent weeks, with Tesla rolling out Steam support<\/a> (turning cars into $100,000 gaming computers<\/a>), NVIDIA announcing GeForce NOW cloud gaming for cars<\/a>, and now Sony, a company known for its PlayStation products, pushing forward with its electric car program.<\/p>\n

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Sony will partner with Qualcomm for its in-car experience, with a platform Qualcomm is calling the \u201cSnapdragon digital chassis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since last year\u2019s show, Sony also partnered with Honda<\/a> to form Sony Honda Mobility, Inc. Interestingly, Sony got top billing in the partnership, rather than the established automaker.<\/p>\n

This partnership helps remove one of the roadblocks to getting a car on the road, which is that it\u2019s really hard to build and distribute cars. Honda has experience with that, and Sony has experience with software and electronics, so the two can certainly benefit each other in this venture. And hopefully Sony can influence Honda to move quicker than it has on EVs.<\/p>\n

Missing from the show this year was Sony\u2019s SUV variant, which it showed off last year<\/a>. That said, Sony referred to AFEELA as a \u201cnew brand\u201d today, rather than as an individual car, so presumably it could expand to encompass an SUV variant at some point.<\/p>\n

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