Well, here’s a new automotive partnership that comes as somewhat of a surprise: Honda, one of the world’s leading car manufacturers, has signed an agreement to build cars in partnership with Sony, a global electronics giant.
The memorandum of agreement between the two companies highlights plans to develop and sell electric vehicles to usher in “a new era of mobility.” It will have the two brands form a new company, creating an alliance that combines the Japanese car brand’s manufacturing know-how with Sony’s “imaging, sensing, telecommunication, network, and entertainment technologies.”
A press release states sales of the soon-to-be-built EV will commence in 2025, with Honda taking on production duties and Sony being responsible for developing a mobility service platform.
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“Although Sony and Honda are companies that share many historical and cultural similarities, our areas of technological expertise are very different,” Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe said in a statement. “Therefore, I believe this alliance which brings together the strengths of our two companies offers great possibilities for the future of mobility.”
For his part, Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida expressed confidence in the newfound partnership, saying “we intend to build on our vision to ‘make the mobility space an emotional one,’ and contribute to the evolution of mobility centered around safety, entertainment, and adaptability.”
To be fair, Sony has at least some experience in the automotive field. If you’ll recall, the company built a ride called the Vision-S. Hell, the car even made it to on-road testing in Austria. And more recently, there’s the Vision-S 02. This new collaboration with Honda, though, is probably the company’s best shot at a mass-market offering. What do you think?
