SONY AND HONDA LAUNCH AFEELA - A NEW EV BRAND
AFEELA is the new electric vehicle brand created jointly by Sony and Honda, unveiled at CES 2023 with a four-door sedan prototype that combines Honda's automotive engineering heritage with Sony's decades of consumer electronics, entertainment, and sensor technology. It is one of the most consequential EV brand launches in recent years, not because of performance numbers, but because of what it implies for the future of the car as a technology platform.
What Is AFEELA?
Sony Honda Mobility (SHM) is the joint venture behind AFEELA, formed by two companies whose strengths complement each other almost perfectly: Honda's chassis engineering, powertrain development, and manufacturing capability, and Sony's Xperia-class sensor technology, entertainment integration, and content ecosystem. The result is a car conceived from the outset as a software-defined vehicle, where the mobility experience and the digital experience are designed as a single unified product.
As TechCrunch reported from CES, the AFEELA prototype introduced the brand's design language and technology philosophy simultaneously, with a minimalist exterior and an interior built around a large central display panel showing gauges and system data in a rounded, cocoon-like environment.
Technology: 45 Sensors, Qualcomm Snapdragon, and Epic Games
The AFEELA prototype is equipped with 45 cameras and sensors, positioned inside and outside the vehicle to track position, surroundings, and driver state. The target is Level 3 autonomous driving in defined scenarios, with Level 2+ driver assistance as the baseline in standard operation. Qualcomm's Snapdragon Digital Chassis provides 800 TOPS of maximum computing power to run the perception and decision systems.
The entertainment dimension is equally ambitious. Sony and Honda have integrated Epic Games' Unreal Engine into the AFEELA platform and are exploring augmented reality navigation, while the front fascia carries the Media Bar, an external display strip that shows contextual information such as weather, charging status, and ambient light effects. It is a detail that turns the car's exterior into an expressive interface, a genuinely novel use of the body surface.
Design: Minimalist, Purposeful, and Cocoon-Like
The AFEELA exterior is deliberately restrained. Sleek, low, and unadorned, it avoids the aggressive styling often used by EV startups to signal performance. The design communicates calm confidence rather than aggression, a stance that aligns with both Honda's engineering-forward tradition and Sony's premium consumer product aesthetic. The interior follows the same logic: minimal colours, no unnecessary decoration, and a rounded volume that envelops occupants in a space that feels more like a premium lounge than a conventional car interior.
Timeline: Pre-Orders and Deliveries
Pre-orders for the AFEELA 1 were planned to open in the first half of 2025, with sales beginning by end of 2025 and the first North American deliveries in spring 2026. The prototype revealed at CES 2023 was an early-stage vehicle, but it confirmed the production intent and the full-scale commitment from both Sony and Honda to see the brand through to market.
Electric Vehicles That Define Their Category at TheArsenale
The AFEELA positions itself at the intersection of automotive and technology, a space where TheArsenale has curated some of the most remarkable machines available. The Robocar Autonomous Electric Race Car takes autonomous driving to its logical extreme, while the Apex AP-0 Electric Sports Car and Apex AP-1 Electric Sports Car demonstrate what is possible when EV engineering is focused entirely on driver dynamics.
Photo: AFEELA
Explore the Cars Collection at TheArsenale
AFEELA is evidence that the electric vehicle era is as much about software and experience as it is about range and performance. Browse the full Cars collection at TheArsenale to discover the world's most forward-thinking electric vehicles, hypercars, and concept machines.
