Sony and Honda want to market the electric car jointly developed in their specially founded company “Sony Honda Mobility” under the brand name Afeela. This was announced by the partners at the CES technology fair in Las Vegas. There they presented a prototype of the car, which they plan to sell in North America from 2026.
The electronics and entertainment group Sony is bringing artificial intelligence, sensors, but also entertainment functions into the partnership, emphasized once again the head of Sony Honda Mobility, Yasuhide Mizuno. The car giant Honda, on the other hand, has its hat on when it comes to hardware development. Both have already presented two versions of their ideas as a prototype called “Vision-S” at past CES.
“The panoramic screen spans the entire front area and the steering wheel has been specially designed to minimize screen distraction.”
The declared goal is self-driving at level 3 for motorways and assistance systems at autonomy level “2+” for all other roads. The description states: “Our prototype is equipped with a total of 45 cameras and sensors inside and outside the vehicle as well as 800 TOPS of maximum computing power for ECUs. We will use SoCs from Snapdragon Digital Chassis.”
Not an SUV, after all
Bucking the trend, the partners have resisted the temptation to design the car as an SUV. The dimensions of the four-door sedan, which is 4895 mm long, 1900 mm wide with sensors and 1460 mm high, are most likely to fall into the “middle class” category. Its long wheelbase of 3000 mm is typical for an electric car. Apart from the unavoidably outstanding sensor cluster tumours, the design is remarkably clean and calm, and the comparatively large window areas almost inspire hope in view of the rampant viewing slit fashion.
“The Media Bar lets mobility interact with people. The vehicle can express itself by sharing different types of information with people around it. Even before boarding, the interactive mobility experience begins. An interface for a new era.”
The wheel dimensions with 245/40R21 at the front and 275/35R21 at the rear, which are actually far too wide for reasonable efficiency, comfort and steering precision, come from the “impression” shelf – as is usual with prototypes. According to the technical data table, all-wheel drive is planned, but we have not yet received any information about the performance of the engines and storage. However, this is not surprising in an area with rapid technical development and a first sale date in just over three years.
(fpi)
