Sony and Honda announced their new electric vehicle brand “Afeela” during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
It will also be the name of Sony Honda Mobility’s first production electric car. SHM CEO Yasuhide Mizuno said the car would be a unique EV.
Afeela would take advantage of Sony’s experience with entertainment, virtual reality, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence.
What are the features of Afeela?
Photo Credit: www.cnn.com
SHM chose the name “Afeela” to represent the word “feel,” which it claims to be the core of the mobility experience.
The joint venture says Afeela “expresses an interactive relationship where people “FEEL” mobility as an intelligent entity.”
Its website says the car will have a “Media Bar.” It allows “intelligent mobility to express itself to surrounding people using light, enabling interactive communication between mobility and people.”
Also, the interior will have a “gentle rounded tone, wrapping the occupants in a soft cocoon.” It will remove distracting colors and designs to provide comfort and simplicity.
More importantly, Afeela will embody SHM’s 3As: Autonomy, Augmentation, and Affinity. It would offer Autonomy with its driver-assist features and sensors.
The electric car will provide Level 2 driver assistance for general use, such as urban driving. Moreover, Afeela will activate the Level 3 automated drive under specific conditions.
It will have 45 cameras and sensors to help prevent accidents. A Qualcomm Snapdragon Digital Chassis will complete this package with maximum computing performance.
As for Augmentation, Afeela will provide a personalized in-car experience via cloud connectivity and entertainment features using the metaverse.
The website mentioned Sony Honda Mobility has “started to build new values and concepts for mobility with Epic Games.”
Lastly, the new automobile brand will build an open community for other car brands and customers to achieve Affinity.
SHM said it would base the production model on the prototype shown at CES 2023. The joint venture will take pre-orders in the first half of 2025.
It would first sell the Afeela to US customers in 2026. Later, it would offer the vehicle to Japanese and European customers.
Conclusion
Sony and Honda recently announced their new electric automobile brand “Afeela.” It would also be the name of its upcoming EV.
It would integrate the latest technology, such as AI, virtual reality, and the metaverse. However, you must wait until 2025 to see it in action.
Can’t wait for the Afeela? You can check out other electric cars and digital trends at Inquirer Tech.