Sony and Honda End Afeela EV Joint Venture, Cancel Delivery Plans
Theo Asahi Shimbun
Sony Honda Mobility has officially terminated the Afeela EV project, canceling all orders and delivery plans. The joint venture between Sony and Honda has ended due to fierce competition and commercial challenges.
The joint venture between Sony and Honda in the electric vehicle sector has officially come to an end. Sony Honda Mobility (SHM) announced the cancellation of all production and delivery plans for the Afeela EV, despite having completed showroom displays and preparations for vehicle handovers to pre-order customers.
According to sources from Asahi Shimbun, Afeela showrooms in Japan have been covered with tarps, and staff have been instructed to stop accepting new orders. This move comes just weeks before the anticipated delivery start at the end of 2024.
The Afeela model had garnered attention at the CES show in Las Vegas for its massive touchscreen spanning the dashboard and LiDAR sensor system. SHM stated it had invested hundreds of millions of dollars in design, software development, and test production lines.
Both Sony and Honda have confirmed the dissolution of the joint venture as a 'pivotal decision.' An SHM spokesperson told the press: “We created something that could change perceptions of electric vehicles, but the current business environment does not allow us to realize that vision in the way both parties expected.”
Analysts attribute the primary cause to intense competition in the global EV market, especially the rise of Chinese rivals like BYD and NIO, along with pricing pressure from Tesla, which rendered the Afeela project commercially unviable.
The decision to end the partnership marks the conclusion of one of Japan's most prominent tech-auto joint ventures. Sony and Honda have indicated they will focus on their core businesses and have no plans for new EV collaborations in the near future.
