Sony Group Corporation and Honda Motor announced on the conclusion of a formal agreement on the establishment of a joint venture for the production of electric vehicles. The joint venture is called Sony Honda Mobility and should be fully operational by 2022.
The parent companies received equal shares of 50% in the new joint venture, and Yashihide Mizuno, who previously worked at Honda, where he headed the corporation's Chinese business, was appointed director.
“We plan to make full use of the technology assets that the two companies have in various fields, such as Sony's sensor technology and Honda's original mobility development capabilities, to deliver mobility and services that inspire and delight our customers. By combining the experience of both companies, we aim to pave the way for a new era,” he said.
Honda in the joint venture will be responsible for the hardware and propulsion systems, while Sony will take over the electronics and software for electric vehicles, including autopilot software.
Recall that back in 2020, Sony, unexpectedly for everyone, presented at the CES electronics exhibition in Las Vegas the concept of an electric sedan Vision-S, developed together with Nvidia, Continental, Bosch, ZF, Qualcomm and Magna Steyr. Then it was announced that this was only a show car to demonstrate the developments of Sony and its partners in the automotive industry and there could be no question of any production cars.
However, in 2021, Sony held a series tests electric car in different countries, and in January 2022 announced itself as an automotive company and showed a prototype crossover Vision S 02 SUV. Which of the electric cars will be the first to be put on the conveyor in 2025, Sony and Honda did not specify.
