Sony-Honda's electric car is in trouble — what happened?

The Afeela electric car, developed by the Sony Honda Mobility joint venture, has not yet been released on the market, but the company has already reported losses of USD 362,000,000. The Japanese experience shows that even for large corporations, entering the luxury electric car market is very difficult and costly.

It was reported by Autokult.

Amazing losses

The Sony Honda Mobility company incurred operating losses of USD 143,000,000 in 2024. However, as of now, this amount has increased more than two and a half times. 

The car is scheduled to debut at the end of this year, with a starting price of USD 89,900. However, analysts fear that high research and development costs, advanced software integration, and expensive prototypes may make it difficult to recoup the initial investment through sales alone.

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Belief in the future

It is known that the new electric vehicle will be equipped with up to 40 lidars, sensors, and cameras to ensure flawless operation of support and safety systems.

Afeela has two electric motors with a power output of 241 hp each, powered by a 91 kWh battery. This should be enough to cover about 480 km on a single charge. The charging power is 150 kW. Not bad, but there are already more attractive options on the market.

However, Honda and Sony believe in the success of their project. They are counting on the combination of Honda's engineering expertise and Sony's technological know-how in software and entertainment to convince customers of their offer.

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