The first car from the joint venture formed by Honda and Sony It is already a reality. Sony Honda Mobility has officially presented it at the CES in Las Vegas and has confirmed that it will be manufactured this year in the United States.
The first deliveries of Aphela 1 They will take place in mid-2026 and it already has a price, in fact, it can now be reserved, for now, only in California, United States.
A high price and nothing that its rivals do not offer
Sony and Honda have delivered in a timely manner. Almost three years ago, the two Japanese giants announced that they would join forces to jointly manufacture electric cars starting in 2025. Well, that year has arrived and the first car from Sony and Honda It can now be reserved.
As we knew since it was presented two years ago, at the 2023 Las Vegas CES, this electric car from the company formed by the two Japanese firms, that is, Sony Honda Mobility (SHM), is called Afeela 1 and is a premium sedan that measures 4.91 meters long.
What SHM has just confirmed at the CES in Las Vegas that is taking place these days is that this model will begin to be manufactured this year in the United States and that the first deliveries will take place in mid-2026, although we will have to wait until 2027 for the access version arrives.
Taking advantage of the official launch of the car, SHM has also revealed its price. There will be two versions, the Afeela 1 Origin and the Afeela 1 Signature, the first with a starting price of $89,900 (about 87,000 euros) and the second from 102,900 dollars (around 99,600 euros).
The difference between the Origin and the Signature is that the latter has 21-inch wheels (in the Origin they are 19 inches), an infotainment system for the rear seats and C-CMS, a monitoring system with cameras for the rear seats.
In the technical section, it will use two electric motors (one per axle) of 180 kW each to develop a combined power of 482 HP. The battery is lithium-ion and has a capacity of 91 kWh, enough to approve more than 480 km of autonomy. When charging, it can do so in direct current at a maximum power of 150 kW.
At the moment, it can only be reserved in California, United States, and to do so you have to pay a 200 dollar sign (refundable) through the SHM website. The only thing you can choose when buying the car, at least in the Signature, is the exterior color (there are three available) and the interior, which can be light or dark. The Origin can only be black on the outside and inside.
In both versions, the Afeela 1 has an arsenal of driving assistance systems, a very complete infotainment system, autonomous driving level 2+ and OTA (Over-the-Air) updates.
“Sony Honda Mobility strives to develop relationships with people through smart mobility and revolutionize the travel experience. We are pleased to unveil Afeela 1, developed for the autonomous driving era, at CES 2025. Afeela 1 can be called a friend, combining advanced software with meticulously refined hardware. We will meet our customers’ expectations by providing a safe and comfortable travel experience,” said Yasuhide Mizuno, President and CEO of Sony Honda Mobility Inc., in his presentation.
The truth is that, on paper, the Afeela does not propose anything new compared to its rivals (Tesla Model S, Mercedes-Benz EQE, Audi A6 e-tron, Xiaomi SU7) despite the union between Honda and a technological giant from the likes of Sony promised a lot.
We already knew the design of the car for two years and, in that sense, it is nothing transgressive, but neither is it transgressive inside or in terms of equipment or autonomous driving. In fact, it has nothing that the Xiaomi SU7 does not have, which is on sale from about 27,700 euros in China.
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Source: www.motorpasion.com
