Sony-Honda electric car brand gets a name, launch date ... and steering yoke
First model due in 2026
Sony-Honda Mobility, the joint-venture formed in 2022 between veteran carmaker Honda and tech firm Sony, has unveiled its first prototype as well as revealing the name of its brand, Afeela.
Making its debut at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the new EV brand will be known as Afeela, with its first product taking the form of a sleek, mid-sized, tech-packed saloon.
Based on its size and its EV powertrain, the first Afeela appears destined to go head-to-head with the likes of the Hyundai Ioniq 6, Tesla Model 3 and upcoming Volkswagen ID.7.
Like the Sony concepts that appeared at CES in 2021 and 2022, the design of the Afeela, while up-to-date and modern, doesn’t appear particularly outlandish and conceptual, with a smooth, aerodynamic shape, 21in wheels, no door handles and digital side mirrors, suggesting that the model may reach production without any major visual changes.
Also like Sony’s 2021 Vision-S concept, the debut Afeela is a five-seater with a panoramic glass roof and screens spanning the dashboard from door to door. It has additional screens in the back of the front seats for rear occupants, though the visual aspects of the design appear to have evolved significantly from the Vision-S.
The interior features a slick, clean design with few buttons save for those on the yoke-like steering wheel.
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It is expected that rear-seat passengers will be able to connect to and play games through Sony’s PlayStation network, which is useful for passengers on long journeys and all occupants during recharging.
While initial rumours suggested that Sony’s first car could be built on off-the-shelf EV underpinnings from a contract manufacturer such as the Austrian firm Magna-Steyr, the subsequent tie-up with Honda has essentially put paid to those ideas and it now appears more likely that Afeela models will sit on architecture developed by Honda.
Another possibility is that the Afeela could use General Motors architecture, with Honda already engaged in a platform-sharing arrangement with the American giant.
Sony-Honda Mobility has revealed nothing in the way of the details of the Afeela’s performance and drivetrain but has said the model will employ Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Digital Chassis technology, which it says is capable of handling the input from 45 different cameras and sensors, processing some 800 trillion operations per second. It will provide the core of the Afeela’s advanced driver assistance and safety technology.
Again, the company hasn’t made any outrageously ambitious claims in this regard, saying that the Afeela would be capable of Level 3 autonomy, which is the next step of self-driving technology and allows the car to take over all driving functions for extended periods — though only in limited circumstances, such as in traffic on motorways. Legislation is still to be passed in the UK to allow this to be made available to the general public.
Another model (likely a crossover SUV similar to the Tesla Model Y, judging by Sony’s Vision-S 02 concept) will probably be unveiled before the Afeela saloon is made available for pre-order in the first half of 2025, with deliveries beginning in the second half of the year.
The Afeela is expected to arrive in North America in spring of 2026, though the company has given no word yet on whether the car will make it to Europe.
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