Afeela Is a New EV from Sony and Honda Coming to the U.S. in 2026

• Sony Honda Mobility, a joint venture between the two Japanese companies, has revealed a prototype of a handsome new electric sedan that it plans to sell in the U.S. as soon as 2026.
• It will be part of a new brand called Afeela, but we don’t yet know what name the production version of this prototype will use.
• Afeela will start taking orders in 2025, and says that deliveries will start in North America in 2026.

Sony has entered the EV chat. After a number of interesting electric-vehicle prototypes over the past few years, the consumer electronics giant made its EV ambitions clear with the announcement of a new EV brand called Afeela at CES in Las Vegas.

Technically, the new EV concept comes from Sony Honda Mobility, a joint venture between the two Japanese companies. Together, they revealed the prototype of a handsome new electric sedan that they plan to sell in the U.S. as soon as 2026. It will be part of a new brand called Afeela, but we don’t yet know what name the production version of this prototype will use. Afeela will start taking orders in 2025, and says that deliveries will start in North America in the spring of 2026.

As you would expect from an EV presented by the electronics giant, the prototype EV has a whopping 45 cameras and sensors placed inside and outside the vehicle. Paired with the 800 TOPS of maximum computing power for ECU, the Afeela concept is more than just a new way to think of EVs. The EV embraces entire suites of next-generation software, from Qualcomm Technologies’ Snapdragon Digital Chassis for ADAS and telematics solutions to a collaboration with Epic Games on the entertainment side of things.

The concept itself is a relatively standard-issue EV design with a low profile and aerodynamic wheels. Claiming that the EV concept is here to “create a new value standard for mobility,” Sony and Honda don’t want you to think about the car in traditional terms like power and performance. Instead, the highlights here should be on “software, networks, and user experiences.” In other words, areas where Sony has some experience.

Digital features in the concept can be changed via over-the-air updates, but Afeela’s initial statements include the expected claims about autonomous driving and other connectivity features. Level 3 automated driving will be offered “under limited conditions” with Level 2 driver assistance available in more situations, including urban driving.

Sony also plans to open up the EV to partnerships with customers and “our automotive industry partners,” Sony said, with Qualcomm Technologies’ Snapdragon Digital Chassis system-on-a-chip providing the technological support for this ability. Back on planet Earth, we can see that the Afeela concept’s exterior uses a “Media Bar” to communicate with nearby humans and the simple interior was designed to “[wrap] occupants in a soft cocoon.”

Source: Motor - aranddriver.com