Sony and Honda are working together on a new electric car Afeela
On January 4, at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Vegas, Sony and Honda unveiled the product of a collaboration they announced last year: an electric vehicle called “Afeela.”
CES is the world’s largest technology show. Held annually, it is a big deal and serves as a platform for companies to introduce their new technologies to the public.
Yasuhide Mizuno, CEO of Sony Honda Mobility, unveiled the Afeela prototype during a presentation to the CES audience at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. While not many details about the vehicle are available, it seems that Sony x Honda has eschewed the streamlined look of potential competitors such as Lucid and Tesla for an accessible and familiar four-door sedan-like design.
Mizuno outlined a timeline of Afeela’s availability, stating that consumers will be able to place orders by 2025, though US customers may not expect delivery until 2026. Of the car itself, he said: “At the heart of this mobility experience is the word ‘feel.'”
CNN has more on the presentation:
The car will have safety and driver assistance systems from Honda, along with entertainment and interactive features from Sony, Mizuno said. The car’s development focused on software and user interface technology as well as driving dynamics and performance, he said.
Running above the car’s front bumper is a narrow exterior display that the company calls the media bar. This allows the vehicle to display information and communicate with people outside the vehicle, Mizuno said.
Intriguingly for gamers, Sony and Honda have integrated graphics technology from Unreal Engine, the company behind the highly popular game Fortnite. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mizuno indicated there would be plenty of entertainment choices in the Afeela, plus dozens of cameras and sensors for driver and passenger safety.
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