Sony and Honda have officially confirmed that they will work together to produce electric cars under a new joint venture.
In particular, the two companies will establish a joint venture (hereinafter referred to as “new company”) to jointly develop and sell high-value electric vehicles (EVs) through the new company, and will also provide mobility services. .” Honda’s translated announcement said. The announcement also said the agreement demonstrates their “intention to become a vehicle,” but as tough as the past two years have been, we’re going to view that as a translation error rather than early signs of an existential crisis.
Sony has recently been spotted in the car pool, dipping its nose into concepts shown at CES 2020 and again this year, despite assurances that it had no interest in building cars. Those claims began to fall on deaf ears after the Vision-S 02 SUV concept surfaced in January. Not surprisingly, Sony’s two concepts were heavy on technical promises and relatively light on mechanical specs, but that’s to be expected so early in the process, especially given Sony’s previous mission. We suspect the nuts and bolts will be Honda’s responsibility.
And while Honda hasn’t approached electrification with the same reticence as its home rival Toyota, its efforts to go it alone in the EV world have been rare, especially here in the United States. The company announced in 2020 that it would also develop vehicles with the help of General Motors. The Prologue EV and an as-yet-unnamed Acura will both be built on the General’s electric Ultium architecture.
“Sony’s goal is to fill the world with excitement with the power of creativity and technology,” said group chairman and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida in the announcement. “Through the alliance with Honda, which has made such efforts, we want to contribute to the evolution of mobility focused on the three areas of safety, entertainment and adaptability.”
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