Sony & Honda Join Forces To Create New EV Company - Electric Japanese Dream Team?

The joint company called Sony Honda Mobility Inc. will be established this year and will start selling electric vehicles in 2025. The new joint venture will feature a capital of 10 billion yen (Rs 577.52 crore) and its establishment and the start of business are subject to relevant regulatory approvals claims the release from Honda.

The announcement of the new Sony Honda EV joint venture comes less than six months after the Japanese electronics giant revealed that it planned to enter the electric car market and revealed the Vision S 02 electric crossover at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show in January.

The 4.85-metre long Vision S 02 electric concept drew power from two electric motors that produced 563bhp allowing the large crossover to hit 100km/h from standstill in under 5 seconds. The concept featured an array of displays that stretched across the dashboard along with additional ones that hung of the back the front seats.

Sony Honda Mobility Inc plans to engage in the joint development and sales of high value-added battery electric vehicles and commercialize them in conjunction with providing mobility services. Honda will be bringing its expertise in both vehicle manufacturing and after-sales management to the joint venture.

The release states that Sony will bring its own expertise in the fields of in the development and application of imaging, sensing, telecommunication, network and entertainment technologies. This claim the two companies will help "realize a new generation of mobility and services for mobility that are closely aligned with users and the environment, and continue to evolve going forward."

Speaking about the new joint venture with Sony, Honda Director, President, Representative Executive Officer and CEO, Toshihiro Mibe said, "Honda continues to take on new challenges in the environmental, safety, and other advanced fields in order to be a driving force for social change through mobility, and 'become the power that supports people around the world who are trying to do things based on their own initiative.' We are very pleased to have signed a joint venture agreement with Sony, which has strengths in advanced digital technology, and shares our desire to take on new challenges. Since its 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 fusion brought about by the combination of our different industries, so please look forward to future developments."

Talking about his company's new joint venture with Honda, Sony Corporation Representative Corporate Executive Officer, Chairman, President and CEO, Kenichiro Yoshida said, "Based on our vision to 'make the mobility space an emotional one,' Sony's initiatives in the mobility business are centered around the three areas of safety, entertainment and adaptability. As we continue our learnings in these areas, we are excited to have met a partner, Honda, with extensive global achievements and knowledge, and to sign the joint venture agreement between the two companies. Going forward, we aim to contribute to the evolution of mobility by combining Honda's cutting-edge environmental and safety technologies, mobility development capabilities, vehicle body manufacturing technology and after-sales service management experience, with our expertise in imaging, sensing, telecommunication, network and entertainment technologies."

Thoughts On Sony & Honda's New EV Partnership

The announcement that Japanese giants Sony and Honda are joining forces to start selling EVs together by 2025 is absolutely incredible. Honda's automotive prowess paired with Sony's brilliance could really push the EV experience to a whole new level in the future.