After two concept cars, Sony has decided to invest in the electric car market. He won’t be going it alone, having just completed a deal with compatriot Honda. Expected market arrival in 2025.
Don’t drag things out. Just two months after presenting the Sony Vision-S 02 concept at CES 2022, Sony has found its partner. The brand new Sony Mobility division, which launched in Las Vegas in January, has just signed a strategic collaboration agreement with Honda.
Everyone has their role
The agreement will give rise to a joint venture between the two partners this year, aimed at designing and marketing electric vehicles. These will likely be sold under the Sony brand.
In this set, everyone brings their own skills. Honda has mastered the basic automotive business: structure, chassis, comfort, safety, regulations, after-sales… For its part, Sony has brought its know-how to technology that is becoming increasingly important in the world. Automotive: Communications, Networks, Sensors, Information and Entertainment. Sony is in charge of developing a software platform for mobility services.
Two almost turnkey models
The first car born of this association will see the light of day in 2025 Nothing has been specified about the type of car, but there is no doubt that it will be one of the two models already presented by Sony, the sedan Vision-S 01 or the SUV Vision-S 02. The only question is in which order they will be marketed.. .
2022-2025… the schedule is pretty tight. But the project does not start from a blank page, far from it. This was an interesting point of the two ideas: their level of maturity. Far from being the usual demonstrator of the on-board technology, though Sony initially declined to talk about putting them into production… The two vehicles were designed in partnership with Canadian equipment maker Magna, with the obvious goal of designing a vehicle ready for the factory route. Bosch, Nvidia, Continental, Qualcomm or QNX also participated in the development of two concepts.
Suffice it to say that the two cars are already in the advanced design stage. So it remains for Honda and Sony to finalize the development and ensure the industrialization of the vehicle. It will also ensure production at the Japanese manufacturer’s factories. The new joint venture will not own any factories.
Both models share the same platform dedicated to electric vehicles. Sony has communicated the 400 kW motor at the moment, but not the battery capacity. Of course, they embed advanced driver assistance technology with many sensors. Thus there are no less than 40 ultrasonic sensors, cameras, radars or lidars to ensure semi-autonomous driving at the L2+ or L3 level. On board, there are 7 screens as well as 5G connectivity. This allows you to enjoy online multimedia content or even play PlayStation at home on board. The DualSense controller can also control the multimedia system… It remains to be seen whether all these technologies will be retained in the final versions. Follow suit!
Author’s opinion
This is a company that could shake up the small closed world of the Japanese automotive industry… Since the end of the 80s it is not only the first brand to produce high-end brands (Acura, Lexus, Infiniti , Xedos… ) but it is dedicated to electric vehicles. The first Japanese brand, characterized by many manufacturers who believe very moderately in this technology.
Moreover, this is not a small start-up from nothing, but the association of two big names ahead of their reputation in their respective fields. The combination of their skills is enough to give rise to interesting vehicles. Note that Honda, although very discreet in Europe, sells 4.5 million cars in 2021, ahead of Ford as the world’s 7th largest manufacturer.
