Honda and Sony Collaborate on Electric Vehicle Development

Sony Honda Mobility (SHM) has now been formally established following the initial announcement of a joint venture (JV) in June 2022. This comes after the two Japanese conglomerates signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in March for the collaborative development and commercialization of "high value-added battery electric vehicles (BEVs)."

The official establishment was declared by the JV's representative directors, Yasuhide Mizuno, chairman and CEO (from Honda), and Izumi Kawanishi, president and COO (from Sony).

According to SHM, it will start taking pre-orders for its first product before the end of 2025, with the first customer deliveries starting in the US in 2026. Additionally, it states that deliveries to Japan will start in the second half of 2026 and that the first product will be produced at Honda's North American factory.

The JV's high-value EV prototype will be able to drive autonomously at Level 3 while also offering Level 2+ driver assistance in a city environment. It will also have a novel human-machine interface and access to cloud services.

Prior to the Consumer Electronic Show on January 5, Sony Honda Mobility Inc. currently asserts that its first vehicle will be unveiled in Las Vegas on January 4, 2023. A door edge and what appears to be the bonnet are shown in a teaser video that the company released. Honda will be in charge of the production of vehicles due to its production competence. Sony will contribute digital services to a potential mobile platform.

Pre-orders for the new vehicle should begin in 2025, and sales should begin before the year is out. The US will be the first country to receive the vehicle from Sony Honda Mobility Inc. in the spring of 2026. The vehicle will be produced in Honda's North American facility.

By displaying its Vision S 02 concept car at CES in Las Vegas earlier this year, Sony already declared its goal to become a car manufacturer. The 5.63 horsepower prototype SUV with seven seats and a length of 4.85 metres can accelerate from zero to sixty miles per hour in less than five seconds thanks to its electric propulsion. When Sony unveiled the Vision S 02 and announced the creation of a new firm called Sony Mobility Inc., no information on battery technology, size, or anticipated range was provided.

Images of the interior of the Vision S 02 revealed elements that were comparable to the brand's initial Vision-S concept, including headrest screens for the second row of passengers and a full-width high-definition display in place of a traditional grille. Additionally, there is a rotary dial in the middle of the third row, which would allow passengers in seats six and seven to operate audio or multimedia features. It is unclear if the Sony Honda Mobility Inc.'s upcoming electric vehicle will be influenced by the Vision S 02.

Toshihiro Mibe, Director, President, Representative Executive Officer, and Chief Executive Officer of Honda Motor Co., made the following statement in response to the announcement of the new business: "We are very pleased to have signed a joint venture agreement with Sony, which has strengths in advanced digital technology and shares our desire to take on new challenges."

"We are thrilled to have met a partner, Honda, with substantial global achievements and knowledge, and to sign the joint venture agreement between the two companies," continued Sony Chief Executive Officer Kenichiro Yoshida.

Given that Sony and Honda are both involved in the automotive and consumer electronics industries, their partnership would seem to be ideal for the cars of the future. Sony has been developing sensor technologies that will be more advanced than the human eye. These technologies are crucial for different safety purposes, including autonomous driving. Sony has accumulated significant experience in camera sensors, which are currently mostly utilised in smartphones. The global leader in consumer electronics has been developing its own electric car prototypes. The VISION-S 02, unveiled at CES in the United States this year, is an SUV offshoot of its first prototype, an electric sedan called the VISION-S 01, which was unveiled at CES 2020.