A few months ago, Japanese carmaker Honda inked an agreement with tech giant Sony to build electric vehicles together. Now, this partnership goes a step further, as the two industry titans have agreed on a strategic alliance that will give birth to a new company.
The new company will be called Sony Honda Mobility. It will be formally established this year, and will begin selling EVs and provide mobility services in 2025. The capital is listed at ¥10 billion (P4 billion).
Sony Honda Mobility aims to “realize a new generation of mobility and services for mobility.” The company will utilize Honda’s environmental and safety tech, mobility-development capabilities, and manufacturing technologies, among others. It will also have Sony’s expertise in the development and application of imaging, sensing, telecommunication, network, and entertainment technologies at its disposal.
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“Based on our vision to ‘make the mobility space an emotional one,’ Sony’s initiatives in the mobility business are centered around the three areas of safety, entertainment and adaptability,” said Sony president and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida. “As we continue our learnings in these areas, we are excited to have met a partner, Honda, with extensive global achievements and knowledge, and to sign the joint venture agreement between the two companies.
“Going forward, we aim to contribute to the evolution of mobility by combining Honda’s cutting-edge environmental and safety technologies, mobility development capabilities, vehicle body manufacturing technology and after-sales service management experience, with our expertise in imaging, sensing, telecommunication, network and entertainment technologies.”
“Honda continues to take on new challenges in the environmental, safety, and other advanced fields in order to be a driving force for social change through mobility, and ‘become the power that supports people around the world who are trying to do things based on their own initiative,’” said Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe. “We are very pleased to have signed a joint venture agreement with Sony, which has strengths in advanced digital technology and shares our desire to take on new challenges.
“Since its announcement in March, many people have expressed their expectations for this joint venture. At the new company, we will strive to create new value through the fusion brought about by the combination of our different industries, so please look forward to future developments.”
“We are very pleased to sign this joint venture agreement, which represents the start line from which we embark on the major challenge of revolutionizing mobility and creating new value,” said upcoming Sony Honda Mobility chairman and CEO Yasuhide Mizuno. “We plan to fully leverage the technological assets the two companies possess in different fields, such as Sony’s sensing technology and Honda’s original mobility development capabilities, to realize mobility and services that inspire and excite our customers. By bringing together the expertise of both companies, we aim to lead the way in a new era.”
