Sony (NYSE: SONY) and Honda (NYSE: HMC) recently announced plans to create and sell electric vehicles together, known under the new joint venture "Afeela." These types of vehicles in particular (known as "moving entertainment spaces" by Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida) will prioritize self-driving abilities.
Back when Sony and Honda had initially decided that this new electric vehicle will be created at Honda's American factory, it was agreed upon that Level 3 driving abilities would be enabled. Although not much information has been gathered about Afeela, Sony Honda Mobility CEO Yasuhide Mizuno stated that this new electric vehicle would combine the typical Sony experience with artificial intelligence, entertainment, and virtual reality in order to make the new car different and unique.
"Afeela represents our concept of an interactive relationship where people feel the sensation of interactive mobility and where mobility can detect and understand people and society by utilizing sensing and AI technologies," Mizuno said in a statement.
One reason that Afeela will be launching at the United States' location is that electric vehicles are already starting to become popular in North America. It will have many interesting features, such as a light bar on the outside of it that can be utilized "to express itself to surrounding people using light, enabling interactive communication between mobility and people."
In addition to this new feature on the exterior of the Afeela, various forms of entertainment will be provided (such as music, movies, or gaming) through a deal with Epic Games.
"At Epic we are passionate about cars and the automotive industry, and we couldn't be happier to see Sony and Sony Honda Mobility enter the innovative world of mobility and automotive technology. Together with them, we look forward to bringing you exciting updates within this revolutionary space," Epic Games Chief Technical Officer Kim Libreri said.
Specs for Afeela will be 400kW, dual-motor, all-wheel drive, 0-100 km/hr in 4.8 seconds, to name a few. Although data on prices or battery sizes are not yet available, Afeela's sensing and infotainment abilities will be fairly strong. It will contain 40 sensors, with camera, radar, ultrasonic, and lidar, and be able to pick up on surrounding objects, as well as drive autonomously.