The first electric car from Sony and Honda is called Afeela and has 45 cameras and sensors for autonomous driving

Three years after showing its first concept car, Sony has unveiled its brand of electric cars and a prototype that foreshadows the first model. Sony Honda Mobility (SHM) , the company formed by the consumer electronics and automobile giants, will create a brand called Afeela to sell its electric cars.

The large consumer electronics firms have seen a new business opportunity in the electric car. Dyson, Xiaomi, Apple or Sony have set out to launch an electric car on the market.

While Dyson has given up along the way, Xiaomi has moved on and Apple is playing the game, Sony has unveiled its first prototype of the Afeela at the Consumer Electronics Show, CES, in Las Vegas.

"Afeela embodies our concept of an interactive relationship where people feel the sensation of interactive mobility and where mobility can sense and understand people and society through the use of sensing technologies and artificial intelligence, " he stated. Yasuhide Mizuno, CEO of Sony Honda Mobility.

An electric car that wants to interact with its environment

The Afeela logo appeared on a narrow screen or " media bar " located at the front of the vehicle, which can also interact and share information with outsiders or passers-by, such as the weather or the state of charge of the car, as demonstrated on the stage. Another thing is that whoever is crossing at that moment considers it relevant to know the state of charge of the car while you are stopped at the traffic light...

The Afeela looks quite different from previous Sony concept cars, apart from the satin gray paint. Its silhouette is very refined and minimalist, with as few folds, curves or lines as possible.

The front and rear light clusters have been stripped down to seemingly basic bars. The car has lost its character compared to previous concept cars. If anything, it looks extremely aerodynamic.

It is also a large saloon. It measures 4.89 m long , with a 3-meter wheelbase that should provide good habitability. It measures 1.90 m wide and 1.46 m high. To get an idea, it is almost 5 cm shorter than a Mercedes EQE and almost 5 cm longer than a Hyundai Ioniq 6 .

The interior is as minimalist as the exterior. The Afeela does not get rid of the fashion of an aviation-type steering wheel nor does it use a block of screens as a dashboard, which includes the rear-view mirror screens. It's also no surprise given that the Honda e also has an interior full of screens.

The rear seats have individual screens, of course. Sony emphasizes on offering all kinds of entertainment to the passengers. He did not mention anything about installing a PlayStation in the car, but he does mention that he is collaborating with Epic Games on the development of entertainment options.

What is known is that, at the software level, it will use Qualcomm technology , including the so-called Snapdragon Digital Chassis , while graphics technology is provided by Unreal Engine , designing the car's interfaces.

The car also has 45 cameras and sensors in total distributed between the interior and exterior of the car. They will serve in the security systems of the Afeela, and whose development is currently in charge of Honda.

Sony claims that the car will be capable of reaching Level 3 autonomous driving in some situations. Not surprisingly , Honda has been the first brand to commercially propose a car with Level 3 autonomous driving, although for now, only in Japan.

Ni Honda ni Sony han dado detalles sobre la batería o los motores. Sin embargo, se sabe que el coche tiene tracción a las cuatro ruedas y es de suponer que utiliza la disposición habitual de dos motores eléctricos de uno en cada eje para lograr esa tracción integral.

Looking at the specs, the car has wider rear tires than the fronts (245/40 R 21 front and 275/35 R 21 rear), so we'd bet the rear axle has priority over the front. The front suspension is double wishbone and the rear is independent multilink. Some schemes that would provide the car with a high degree of dynamism.

The Afeela will be sold mainly online, but you will have to be patient. Pre -orders will open in the first half of 2025 , with firm orders to follow by the end of that year.

The first deliveries to customers will be made in 2026 , with the Americans being the first to receive their car, since the Afeela will be manufactured at a Honda factory in North America yet to be determined.