The Sony-Honda electric car JV could include high end models.
asia.nikkei.com
TOKYO -- The electric-vehicle joint venture between Sony Group and Honda Motor will not be a "one and done" deal, President and Chief Operating Officer Izumi Kawanishi told Nikkei, outlining plans to offer multiple models after it begins sales in 2025 to better compete with the likes of Tesla.
In addition to his posts at Sony Honda Mobility, Kawanishi is an executive vice president at Sony Group and led the development of its Vision-S prototype EV. "We will bring our expertise and know-how together with Honda's as we consider what mobility should look like," he said of the venture's vehicles.
"We will think of a new brand name," he said.
The EVs will be produced at Honda facilities in North America, with deliveries to start in the spring of 2026. Sony Honda Mobility is prioritizing that region "because there is significant understanding and demand for EVs in the U.S.," explained Kawanishi, who said it is a "good idea to take on new challenges in environments that are more open to them."
Kawanishi did not give a price range or other specifics regarding his company's EVs. But "we will start with a model that incorporates cutting-edge technologies and could become a high-value-added flagship for us," he said, signaling plans to compete with high-end models from such companies as Tesla and Porsche.
"We will consider producing cheaper models built on the same platform" afterward, Kawanishi said.
Still, "they won't be like kei cars," he said, referring to a type of affordable minicar popular in Japan.
Competition in the EV industry only continues to grow. Tesla is on track to sell more than 1 million new vehicles a year and also leads in new technologies like over-the-air software updates.
"If we make the cars cheap, we can't achieve what we want," Kawanishi said. "We need our vehicles to be advanced enough to be scalable, including in terms of hardware."
"We may not yet know what future cars will need, but we will ensure we have the capacity to meet those future demands," he said.
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asia.nikkei.com
In addition to his posts at Sony Honda Mobility, Kawanishi is an executive vice president at Sony Group and led the development of its Vision-S prototype EV. "We will bring our expertise and know-how together with Honda's as we consider what mobility should look like," he said of the venture's vehicles.
"We will think of a new brand name," he said.
The EVs will be produced at Honda facilities in North America, with deliveries to start in the spring of 2026. Sony Honda Mobility is prioritizing that region "because there is significant understanding and demand for EVs in the U.S.," explained Kawanishi, who said it is a "good idea to take on new challenges in environments that are more open to them."
Kawanishi did not give a price range or other specifics regarding his company's EVs. But "we will start with a model that incorporates cutting-edge technologies and could become a high-value-added flagship for us," he said, signaling plans to compete with high-end models from such companies as Tesla and Porsche.
"We will consider producing cheaper models built on the same platform" afterward, Kawanishi said.
Still, "they won't be like kei cars," he said, referring to a type of affordable minicar popular in Japan.
Competition in the EV industry only continues to grow. Tesla is on track to sell more than 1 million new vehicles a year and also leads in new technologies like over-the-air software updates.
"If we make the cars cheap, we can't achieve what we want," Kawanishi said. "We need our vehicles to be advanced enough to be scalable, including in terms of hardware."
"We may not yet know what future cars will need, but we will ensure we have the capacity to meet those future demands," he said.
