After teasing an electric vehicle (EV) concept earlier this year, Honda and technology conglomerate Sony said on Thursday that they've signed a joint venture agreement to build and sell them.
Dubbed Sony Honda Mobility Inc., the newly-established company will "engage in the sale of high-value-added electric vehicles (EVs) and provide services for mobility," according to a press release.
Yasuhide Mizuno, a longtime Honda executive, will be taking the helm of the new entity as chairman and CEO.
"We plan to fully leverage the technological assets the two companies possess in different fields, such as Sony's sensing technology and Honda's original mobility development capabilities, to realize mobility and services that inspire and excite our customers," Mizuno said. By bringing together the expertise of both companies, we aim to lead the way in a new era."
The two companies hope to combine Honda's experience with vehicle technology, manufacturing and after-sales service with Sony's work in a variety of fields including telecommunications, imaging and entertainment for mobility products.
A concept car from Sony first debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in 2020, showing off the Vision-S concept, an electric vehicle with an array of sensors and other technologies.
At the time, Sony didn't say that it would move forward on producing the vehicle at scale. Instead, it was built to test autonomous vehicle technology.
At CES 2022 Sony returned with the Vision-S 02 SUV concept, saying that it would form a business this year to put the car into production.
The Vision-S 02 was presented with an all-wheel drive setup and 536 horsepower, though no battery size or range details were given. It will land in the competitive midsize SUV category, where it will compete with new EV's like the Polestar 3, Chevrolet Equinox EV and the Ford Mustang Mach-E.
Last year, Honda said that it would exclusively sell battery-electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles by 2040. In the U.S. market, that kicks off with the 2024 Honda Prologue, an all-electric SUV that's expected to debut in 2023. It's expected to have a range of around 300 miles.
The Japanese automaker also recently announced a partnership with General Motors to produce electric vehicles slated for production in 2023 and 2024.
Sony and Honda say that their new mobility product will be put into production in 2025, subject to regulatory approvals.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
