Sony and Honda drop Afeela 1 EV, eye new paths
Sony Group (6758.T) and Honda Motor (7267.T) have opted to explore new opportunities through their 50-50 joint venture, following the cancellation of the Afeela 1 electric vehicle, according to a report from the Nikkei newspaper on Friday.
Sony Honda Mobility, the joint venture between the Japanese electronics giant and the carmaker, said in March it would stop developing the Afeela cars, citing Honda's EV strategy overhaul, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
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The joint venture's pivot also means determining what to do with its roughly 400 employees as early as April, the report said. The parent firms are considering absorbing a portion of these workers.
Both Japanese firms could not be reached immediately for comment outside working hours.
The joint venture was created to pair Honda's engineering and manufacturing with Sony's software and gaming capabilities, in an effort to catch up with EV rivals. The venture had said it would issue full refunds to customers in California who had reserved the Afeela 1, its planned first model.
Sony and Honda are discussing non-EV products and services as alternatives and expect to find other applications for Afeela 1 technologies such as an artificial intelligence assistant and an audio system, the report said.
Sony Honda Mobility may still consider bringing a passenger car to market, Nikkei said.
The Nikkei report follows a Reuters report earlier on Friday that Honda is cutting petrol car production in China, as traditional automakers cede ground to China's fast-growing EV makers and scale back legacy petrol operations.
By Ulviyya Salmanli
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