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The Japanese corporation Sony traditionally utilizes the CES exhibition held in Las Vegas to showcase its ambitions in the automotive segment, and this year's event was no exception. The joint venture between Sony and Honda, set to release serial electric vehicles from 2026 onwards, showcased an enhanced version of the Afeela concept at CES 2024. Notably, this vehicle can be remotely controlled using the joystick from the PlayStation 5 gaming console.
During his presentation at CES 2024, Yasuhide Mizuno, the CEO of Sony Honda Mobility, used a standard wireless controller from Sony PS5 to bring an improved prototype of Afeela onto the stage. According to Electrek, this functionality is integrated into the prototype solely for demonstration purposes and may not necessarily be implemented in the production vehicles of this joint venture.
If we judge by the Afeela concept, Sony Honda Mobility's electric vehicles will support gaming applications from Epic Games, not to mention their own games from the PlayStation catalog. Large monitors are provided not only for the driver and front passenger but also for rear passengers. It's worth noting that Tesla introduced similar entertainment features a couple of years ago through collaboration with AMD, so Sony's offering is not groundbreaking in that regard. Following the modern trend for electric vehicles, the Sony Honda Mobility product will continuously update its onboard software through wireless network interfaces.
As of now, there is no information available about the technical specifications and the possible price of the serial version of Afeela. However, it was previously reported that the car may be equipped with a dual-motor electric powertrain providing all-wheel drive with a total power of 536 horsepower, and it can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in about 4.8 seconds.
Interestingly, the maximum speed is stated to be quite high for a general-purpose electric vehicle, at 240 km/h. The presence of 45 different cameras and sensors on the prototype does not necessarily mean that all of them will be included in the production model. Sony is likely using them to promote its electronic components for the automotive market. It is anticipated that the serial vehicles from this joint venture will begin shipping to North America from 2026.
