CES 2023: Sony and Honda unveil their jointly developed EV brand, Afeela

Sony and Honda have announced plans to unveil their joint electric vehicle (EV) under the brand name Afeela. The sedan was driven onstage at the mega tech event, CES, on Wednesday, where Kenichiro Yoshida, the CEO of Sony, walked the audience through the company’s mobility philosophy.

Afeela's first preorders are scheduled in the first half of 2025. The sales will begin the same year, said Sony's CEO. Initial deliveries will be done for customers in North America in the spring of 2026, Tech Crunch reported.

Sony and Honda have previously said the new four-door EV will be initially manufactured at Honda’s North America factory. They had mentioned that the vehicles will feature Level 3 automated driving capabilities under limited conditions. With Level 3 autonomy, the car can be driven in situations like traffic jams, but that the human driver has to take over when the system requests it.

A few new details were revealed by Sony today, that included the integration of external media along the front of the car which allows it to interact with other road users and share necessary information, the report mentioned.

Yoshida said, "We plan on exploring the possibility of how media can create a fun and exciting mobility interaction."

There are 45 cameras sensors both inside and outside the vehicle in order to ensure safety and security, said Yoshida. The in-cabin sensors are to monitor the driver’s status and prevent accidents.

As per Yoshida, Afeela will also feature best-in-class entertainment for customers. This JV will integrate Epics Games’ Unreal Engine that will help customers visualize not just entertainment in cars, but also communication and safety.

"In addition to movies, games, and music, we envision a new in-cabin experience using our expertise of UX and the UI technologies," Tech Crunch quoted Yoshida.

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