Sony and Honda have announced that they have formally signed a joint venture agreement to establish a new company to participate in the sale of high-value-added electric vehicles and the provision of mobility services.
The announcement is a consolidation and outcome of the discussion of a strategic alliance in the field of mobility between the two parties. The project was also announced through a joint press release entitled Sony and Honda sign a memorandum of understanding for the strategic alliance in the field of mobility.
The new company aims to combine Honda’s advanced environmental and safety technologies, mobility development capabilities, vehicle body fabrication technology, and aftermarket management experience with Sony’s expertise in developing and applying imaging, sensing, communications, networking and entertainment technologies, in order to achieve a new generation of mobility and services for mobility that… It is closely aligned with users and the environment and continues to develop in the future.
Essentially, Honda brings its expertise in building cars, while Sony brings its expertise in software and technology. There are currently no details about the vehicle Honda and Sony are working on together, or the platform on which it is being built.
Sony and Honda plan to establish the new company in 2022 and start selling electric vehicles and providing services for mobility in 2025. The establishment and start-up of the new company is subject to relevant regulatory approvals.
The new company, called Sony Honda Mobility, is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, and has a capital of 10 billion yen (75 million dollars), with an investment ratio of 50% for Sony and 50% for Honda.
Sony and Honda create joint electric car company
Sony has made its ambitions for electric cars more visible over the past few years. It showed its concept electric car VISION-S at the last three conferences at CES.
In presentations Sony gave of its concept vehicle, the company focused on its expertise in entertainment and software to indicate that it can provide better technical services, including self-driving, than traditional carmakers.
Honda, like its biggest rival Toyota, has been slower to switch to electric vehicles than global automakers. It is under pressure from investors to make cars that are carbon-neutral and equipped with the latest technology such as self-driving.
The automaker, which offers only one electric car, the Honda e, said it plans to roll out 30 electric vehicle models and build about 2 million electric cars annually by 2030.
Yasuhide Mizuno, a senior Honda executive, is the company’s chairman and CEO. Izumi Kawaanishi, Executive Vice President of Sony Corporation, is President and Chief Operating Officer.
Honda, which makes popular models such as the Accord and Civic, is dealing with shrinking margins as raw material costs soar and the global chip crunch hits production.
The company said earlier this year that it was developing a series of lower-priced electric vehicles with General Motors. In addition to expanding, General Motors plans to start building two electric SUVs for Honda starting in 2024.
