Honda and Sony to launch self-driving electric vehicles together

Sony and Honda plan to create a separate company for their joint electric vehicle venture, so they've given it a name. Sony Honda Mobility Inc. will be established in Tokyo by the end of 2022, with EV sales beginning in 2025, according to a press release from Sony.

The new management team will be based in Tokyo. Yasuhide Mizuno, the Honda executive who has been named chairman and CEO, and Izumi Kawanishi, the Sony EVP who has been promoted to president and COO, will lead the board of directors. Each firm maintains an equal 50% stake. "Sony commented previously that the collaboration would make use of 'Honda's cutting-edge environmental and safety technologies,' as well as vehicle body manufacturing technology, after-sales service management experience," according to Sony. Meanwhile, Sony will contribute "imaging, sensing, telecommunication network technologies."

Honda is far behind rivals in the development of electric vehicles, having only recently debuted the Honda E as its first-ever electric vehicle. However, lately it has accelerated its plans. This year, Honda and Acura SUVs will go on sale in North America under a collaboration with GM to develop a range of affordable EVs using a global architecture and GM's Ultium battery technology. By 2024, Honda and Acura SUVs will be available for purchase in North America.

In addition, Honda has announced plans to convert its entire car lineup to electric vehicles and fuel-cell vehicles by 2040. As a result of this, it will invest $40 billion and release 30 new EVs between now and 2030. Sony has already unveiled two unique electric cars of its own design, the Vision-S EV and Vision-S 02 electric SUV. It's unclear how all Sony Honda Mobility fits into all of these announcements, but we should hear more about it in the near future.

Source: www.engadget.com