The development and launch of the car that should have been born from the collaboration between Honda and Sony has been blocked. The strategic about-face on electric vehicles by the Japanese car manufacturer is decisive
The collaboration between is interrupted Sony and Honda within the scope of joint ventures Shm (Sony Honda Mobility), which was born in 2022 and from which the Afeela 1 should have seen the light, an electric sedan whose prototype had been presented three years ago in Las Vegas. However, on March 25th the announcement arrived that the development and official launch of the Afeela 1 is suspended and that the same fate will also befall the second Afeela model, which was in the development phase. The decision in fact follows Honda’s strategic about-face, which already announced on March 12 that it had revised its electrification plans and blocked the launch of three zero-emission models intended for the American market. The Afeela 1 project, which was supposed to debut in the United States, aimed to propose a high-tech car capable of even talking to pedestrians. The combination of Honda’s automotive know-how and Sony’s entertainment technologies was intended to be the basis for a futuristic car which, however, also due to the current US economic and political context, as well as Honda’s difficult situation, will not see the light of day. Honda itself had in fact explained that due to “the change in policies of the United States government, including the imposition of customs duties on imports” the profitability of its automotive sector was decreasing. Shm confirmed that all those who pre-ordered the car will be fully refunded and that Sony and Honda will continue discussions about future collaboration plans.
