In 2026, Sony and Honda will make an electric car. In-car entertainment will be driven by membership features and game consoles and media from Sony. The Afeela prototype at CES made the 2020 Vision-S idea better.

An attempt by Apple Titan was the largest four-wheeled curiosity in the world for more than ten years.

iCar? How can technology help sell cars? Builder/seller? What will change with electric and digital cars?

Apple Car's enigma lingers. It's possible that Sony, not Apple, broke the code.

Sony—not Apple—may be accountable.

Honda and the electronics and media company will build the 'Afeela' electric vehicle in 2026. Honda may build for US EV tax subsidies. Subscribers and Sony's massive media and game library will power in-car entertainment. Driverless cars and EV charging are available while they ship.

Sony Honda Mobility's long-term partnership will start in three years. The venture's CEO, Yasuhide Mizuno, told CES reporters it's considering 10-year leases with over-the-air software and feature upgrades.

CES 2023:

Sony Honda Transportation COO Izumi Kawanishi told The Verge selling the vehicle needs 10 years of support. “Long-term,”

Kawanishi said Sony entered the car market to test a disruptive business model.

“Software matters,” Kawanishi remarked. software. Mobility. Software.”

Software is important.

Sony intended. S's 2022 seven-seat SUV concept.

Tesla-like Lucid Air EV prototypes. Dashboard screens, 45 sensors, and cameras enabling semi-autonomous driving, all-wheel drive, augmented reality, and 'virtual worlds' while driving. Sony's first EV can rival luxury brands.

2023's CES.

Afeela's CES debut was criticised online. As the EV market grows rapidly, this alliance will struggle to gain new clients for three years.

Afeela said significant businesses are joining the EV industry to dominate automotive digital futures through subscription services, data, and software.

Honda's manufacturing expertise might help Sony enter a new market and profit.

Edmunds auto industry expert Jessica Caldwell called it 'interesting.' “These are well-recognised brands, and I think it is absolutely vital in persuading the public to trust these vehicles as more autonomous functions are added.”

Afeela prioritises passenger comfort over Model S.

'We have discussed vehicles migrating into a virtual living room for well over a decade,' Caldwell added. 'Utility is changing the way cars are made.'

CES 2023:

Tesla dominates EV-automotive startups.

It's hard to make cars. Last decade, customers and industry experts worried that new car companies would have trouble making cars, make promises that were too good to be true, or commit fraud. Recent startups were vaporware.

“Utility is affecting car design.”

Sony and Honda aren't. One is Japan's leading electronics and console gaming firm. Reputable global automakers.

“On the surface level, this is two of Japan Inc.'s best-known, greatest firms in their respective industries merging together,” said Tyson Jominy, VP for statistics and analytics at automotive research firm JD Power. A consumer electronics company joining cars promises miracles.

Jominy Honda. Sony partnered with a top automaker.

CES debuted Sony's Afeela. Sony displayed the car to the media during a keynote with a Gran Turismo movie preview and accessible gaming controls.

CES 2023: Honda CEO Yasuhide Mizuno.

Honda gains. Japan buys a few EVs. Honda, Toyota, Mazda, and Nissan trail American, European, and South Korean battery EVs. Next year, Honda's first modern EV, the Prologue crossover, will use GM's Ultrium platform.

Honda Afeela. According to Automotive News, Honda will launch a similar EV around Afeela's premiere and use Honda's new e: Architecture platform for the Sony-Honda automobile.

“On the surface, this is two of Japan Inc.'s best-known, greatest corporations in their fields joining.”

Jominy claimed Honda is buying a customer to catch up on EV development. Japanese automakers fear EVs. They may think so.”

Honda makes most US Hondas and Acuras. The Inflation Reduction Act's greatest EV tax benefits for North American-made automobiles and batteries may aid Sony. Honda's Ohio battery factory.

Jominy stated Tesla, Rivian, and others struggle with production. Blooming.

CES: Sony-Honda EV Picture Alliance/Getty Images/Andrej Sokolow

Sony produces cars—why?

Sony and Honda are famous, yet carmaking is hard. Country-specific manufacturing, spending, profitability, and sales.

Sony Honda Mobility executives told The Verge that cars are Sony's next natural frontier for movies, music, TV, and gaming.

Honda 'gains a client to help pay for EV development and catch up.'

Kawanishi remarked, “We discovered we can construct one additional enjoyment location in mobility, like a living room” in a car. PlayStation/Walkman. Transportation.”

Kawanishi said Sony is investigating automotive cloud technologies. Last year, it introduced cloud-stored user settings, autonomous driving, and remote gaming.

Sony envisions full user integration from home to work to the car. “Portable.”

Kawanishi didn't name Sony's automakers. Apple Cars could've faced Afeela's 2020 Vision-S. Sony Honda Mobility denies its concept competed.

Jominy knows both companies' plans and Afeela's issues. Long three-year driving. 20–25 new EV models will arrive in three years, and Chinese companies are learning how to join the US market.

Jominy predicted Afeela's triumph. “Many scenarios till 2026.”

If Sony Honda Mobility can do this—unlikely—it will revolutionise the industry, not just in-car gaming.

Afeela vehicles extend leases and finance terms.

Jominy called this transition to subscription features 'inevitable,' especially since automakers must meet Inflation Reduction Act price limits for tax incentives. Automakers may reduce basic car prices and add accessories.