Sony Group and Honda, which jointly established Sony Honda Mobility, abruptly announced on the 25th that they would discontinue the development and sale of electric vehicles.
According to Nikkei and Asahi Shimbun, Sony Honda Mobility has decided to halt sales of all electric vehicle models, including the 'Afeela 1' which was undergoing pre-order sales in the United States, and a successor model scheduled for release after 2028.
The Afeela 1 was expected to be delivered in the United States this year with a starting price of $89,900 (approximately 134.77 million won).
Afeela was highly anticipated as a collaboration between Sony, Japan's leading entertainment company, and Honda, an automobile manufacturer. Established in 2022, Sony Honda Mobility positioned Afeela as a 'moving entertainment platform'.
Nikkei reported that "Sony Honda Mobility aimed to become a Japanese alliance to compete against Tesla in the United States by merging Sony Group's digital technology with Honda's production technology," and emphasized that Sony Group intended to establish Afeela as a new space for entertainment.
However, due to Honda's decision to scale back its electric vehicle business amid sluggish demand, Afeela failed to make its market debut.
Honda has already halted the development of three electric vehicle models planned for production in North America and projected an operating loss of up to 690 billion yen (approximately 6.5 trillion won) by the fiscal year ending March 2026 due to a review of its electric vehicle strategy.
Analysts predict that the discontinuation of Afeela will further erode Japan's competitiveness in the electric vehicle market.
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▶ Original Source: https://n.news.naver.com/article/001/0015981884?sid=104
