Photo: Sony
Japan’s two most prominent names in business, Sony and Honda, have announced that they are set to launch a joint venture that manufactures and sells electric vehicles. It will be established later this year, with deliveries beginning in 2025.
The agreement details are still being ironed out and will still be subject to regulatory approval, said the two firms’ joint statement.
They added, “The new company is expected to plan, design, develop, and sell the EVs, but not own and operate manufacturing facilities.” Production will be conducted at one of Honda’s factories.
Sony will create a platform for mobility services. However, there was no further elaboration regarding this.
Despite being a Japanese conglomerate best known for its electronic gadgets and entertainment products, Sony recently expressed its interest in the auto industry by unveiling its first prototype vehicle at the CES consumer tech trade show in 2020. The Vision-S 01 was tested on public roads in Europe in December 2020.
This year, Sony took its interest in the car industry to another level with the plans to launch an electric car company and the debut of a new sports utility vehicle concept.
Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said at CES in January, “With our imaging and sensing, cloud, 5G and entertainment technologies combined with our content mastery, we believe Sony is well-positioned as a creative entertainment company to redefine mobility.”
There are high hopes for the company to work well together, said Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe on Friday.
“Although Sony and Honda are companies that share many historical and cultural similarities, our areas of technological expertise are very different.”
“Therefore, I believe this alliance, which brings together the strengths of our two companies, offers great possibilities,” Mibe said in a statement.
