Sony Mobility: Sony confirms EV dreams with new concept, new brand

UPDATE, January 2023: Sony Honda Mobility announce Afeela brand, unveil new prototype EV

Here it is, a first look at the near-production EV concept that will be launched in 2025 under Sony Honda Mobility's new brand, Afeela. Get all the details at the link below.

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The story to here

This is the Sony Vision-S SUV, an electric family car revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in the US today, as a follow-up to the Vision-S sedan revealed at the same event last year.

As one of the few brands attending this year's CES 'in person', Sony had the rapt attention of all media – although most publishers had confirmed in recent weeks that their teams would skip the event to avoid potential COVID-related risks.

The biggest takeaway for today's unveiling – apart from Sony's lack of vision in merely appending 'SUV' to the existing Vision-S concept name – is the announcement of a new Sony Mobility Inc. company, set to launch in the first or second quarter of 2022.

NOTE: the cinematically rich, details-poor video below is titled Vision-S 02, but the '02' is not referenced in the concept's press release, issued today.

That announcement alone isn't confirmation that Sony will leap into the automotive manufacturer arena, however. Officially, the new company's mission is to "help realise a world where everyone can live in harmony with robots on a daily basis, fill people with emotion, and contribute to society".

If the tech- and infotainment-focused press release were all we had to go on, there would be little cause to speculate on a tilt at passenger vehicles – even with today's debut of what would be an entirely unnecessary second concept car for any brand not considering a market launch.

However, Sony's chairman and CEO, Kenichiro Yoshida, went a step further today, announcing on stage: "We are exploring a commercial launch of Sony’s EV".

It doesn't get much clearer than that without actually announcing plans, but it remains to be seen if Sony will follow through on converting its dreams into reality.

Still, all of this is good news for any readers interested in a Sony-developed electric vehicle, after the brand confirmed in January last year that it did not intend to put the Vision-S concept into production.

NOTE: There are no further photos available of the Vision-S SUV at this stage, although the first video above shows more angles.

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The existing Sony Vision-S concept