[Auto] Honda and Sony's Joint EV Is Coming in 2025, Will Be Made in Ohio for U.S.

[The GodFather]

 

 

Sony and Honda are following up on their earlier announcement of an electric-vehicle partnership, saying the first EV from this deal will go on sale in the U.S. first and then in Japan.
The two companies have now officially established Sony Honda Mobility, which has a stated mission to "move people through the pursuit of innovation with diverse inspirations."
U.S. customers will be able to order the cars online in early 2025 for spring 2026 delivery.
Honda's big electric-vehicle news week continues with a buzzword-filled announcement that the automaker and electronics giant Sony have officially established Sony Honda Mobility Inc. (SHM), which will become a software-oriented mobility tech company, to sell a new electric vehicle in the U.S. and Japan in the coming years. As Reuters pointed out, it's very likely that some features will be subscription based, meaning owners will pay monthly fees to get some of the entertainment or tech choices available on the EV.

SHM, which claims its purpose is to "move people through the pursuit of innovation with diverse inspirations," will start taking pre-orders for its EV in the first half of 2025. The EV will go on sale by the end of that year, with a focus on online transactions. The first deliveries of SHM's EV will take place in the U.S. in the spring of 2026 and in Japan in the second half of the year.

Both companies are moving separately toward building EVs. Honda is fresh from showing off its latest zero-emission concept, the 2024 Prologue. Sony revealed a new EV concept called the Vision-S 02 at CES in January (that's its interior in the photo above). Honda and Sony publicly joined forces in an EV effort in March 2022 with a memorandum of understanding that they would create a 50/50 strategic alliance for mobility. In June 2022, the companies signed a joint venture agreement that they would establish SHM. The new announcement said SHM will be "actively building partnerships with other companies" as it works on its new EV.

Seeking Honda Loyalists
Honda has previously said it will rely on its loyal fans to stick with it as it shifts to electric vehicles. SHM said its target audience for the new EV will be similarly connected to the brand, even if they don't own the car. Sony Honda Mobility did not provide any technical or design details about its first EV, but did say that the concept would be defined by 3 As, which are Autonomy, Augmentation, and Affinity. SHM chairman and CEO Yasuhide Mizuno told reporters the future EV would be priced at "a reasonable amount."

 

 

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a41622526/2025-honda-sony-affinity-ev-details/