Details of Sony and Honda’s new electric vehicle joint venture

Sony and Honda’s motobike is officially cooperating to sell “high-value-added electric vehicles” and “provide services for mobility”.

The first cars of the joint venture Sony Honda Mobility Inc. will launch in 2025, with mobility services (be it carpooling or car sharing) launched at the same time.

The company will be headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, and will be backed by 10 billion yen in capital divided equally between the two companies.

Sony first registered its automotive intentions with the Vision-S concept in 2020, and followed by the earlier Vision-S 02 SUV in 2022. However, its goals for the project are very strong. vague since the beginning.

Honda is likely to take over the manufacturing and services portion of the joint venture, while Sony will lead the “development and application of imaging, sensing, telecommunications, networking and entertainment technologies”.

Reading between the lines, it looks like Sony plans to leverage its expertise (and network of media companies) to develop upcoming electric car infotainment systems and mobility services. Going ahead of the Vision-S, it also looks like the tech needed for semi- or fully-automated driving will come from Sony.

Both Vision-S concepts feature a huge suite of technologies to support Level 2 autonomous driving, including 40 combined LiDAR, radar, camera and ultrasonic sensors.

When it was revealed, Sony boasted that the Vision-S was self-parking, had adaptive cruise control, self-parking and automatic lane change. It also says the car has level 4 autonomy with software updates.

Toshihiro Mibe, CEO of Honda Motor Co. “We are delighted to have signed a joint venture agreement with Sony, a company with a strong background in advanced digital technology, and share our desire to take on new challenges,” said.

“Since the announcement in March, many people have expressed their expectations for this joint venture. At the new company, we will strive to create new value through the consolidation brought about by the combination of our different industries, so stay tuned for future developments.” he said.

Under the leadership of Mr. Mibe, CEO since April 2021, Honda has committed stop using internal combustion engines in his car by 2040. He also said the company is looking for new partnerships.

Sony isn’t the only tech company looking to ramp up the auto sector, with iPhone maker Foxconn also announcing plans to build electric cars.