The Sony-Honda Afeela EV Will Begin At $102,900, Arrive In Mid-2026

Here is a query: How a lot is enjoying Fortnite natively in your automobile actually price it?

If it is price at the least $102,900, think about being one of many first in line to order the Sony-Honda Afeela 1. The electrical sedan, a three way partnership between two of Japan’s prime client expertise firms, was revealed in manufacturing spec this night at CES. And it is positively not going to be low cost. 

Picture by: InsideEVs

The Afeela 1’s debut mannequin, the Signature sequence, will begin at $102,900 and deliveries are slated to start out in mid-2026. If that is a bit too steep for you, think about ready till 2027 for the Origin trim. That one is simply going to be $89,900. Refundable reservations will probably be taken on-line for $200. 

Picture by: Honda

Sony-Honda Afeela 1 CES 2025

As we have coated at previous CES-es and in our digital tour in New York, the Afeela 1 is the product of a three way partnership between Honda and Sony that can even yield an SUV and finally inexpensive electrical fashions. Whereas it is being constructed by Honda in Ohio, Sony may be very a lot the one within the driver’s seat right here. The automobile is a form of try to put Japan’s EV choices on par with the high-tech, software-defined electrical fashions popping out of China recently—and in order that Sony does not get left behind within the race to place extra expertise, gaming and leisure immediately into your automobile. 

Powered by a 91 kWh battery pack, the Afeela 1 boasts two electrical motors entrance and rear rated at 180 kW, so its complete system output ought to be round 480 horsepower. Vary is estimated round 300 miles, and it boasts fast-charging speeds of as much as 150 kW. The Afeela 1 will pack a Tesla-style North American Charging Normal (NACS) plug from the manufacturing unit. 

Sadly, that vary and charging pace places the Afeela 1 far behind many trendy EV opponents, particularly round that price ticket. A equally priced Lucid Air, for instance, has a peak charging price of over 300 kW and has a spread of at the least 420 miles. 

Picture by: Honda

Sony-Honda Afeela 1 CES 2025

However at tonight’s CES press convention, Sony officers pressured the Afeela 1’s technical competence. The sedan drove itself onstage whereas mobility chief Yasuhide Mizuno boasted that it got here to “near-final” type in lower than two years. Mizuno stated that the Afeela 1 can have among the most superior automated driving help options available on the market due to a complete of 40 sensors, together with 18 cameras, 1 LIDAR array, 9 radar units and 12 ultrasonic sensors. Solely a small handful of LIDAR-equipped automobiles are, or will probably be, available on the market quickly, together with the Polestar 3 and Volvo EX90. 

Comparisons will inevitably be drawn to Tesla, which is a pacesetter within the automated driving area however controversially does so solely with cameras and synthetic intelligence—one thing critics say is sweet for cost-cutting however leaves the automobiles much less conscious and fewer succesful than they might be with different sensor varieties. “Afeela’s AI notion is used to precisely acknowledge the encircling atmosphere, and its AI planner is used to create optimum driving plans,” Mizuno stated. 

Picture by: Honda

Sony-Honda Afeela 1 CES 2025

As soon as ADAS is activated, the automobile “proactively talks to you,” present the driving force and its passengers with helpful details about what’s on the street. When parked, it additionally gives entry to in-car leisure within the type of video video games, music, motion pictures and extra—a lot of it from Sony’s huge content material library, in fact. 

Furthermore, at the least for now, Afeela 1 reservations will solely be taken for residents in California, however Mizuno stated that there are plans to “steadily increase to different states.”

Will individuals purchase it? It is lots of coin for a brand new model (albeit one from two household-name gamers) at a time when the automobile market, electrical or in any other case, is trending closely towards extra reasonably priced fashions. However it’s additionally not unusual for brand new EV makers to launch with their costliest and premium fashions whereas they work to get manufacturing scale up whereas driving prices down.

Furthermore, in its protection, the Afeela 1 does appear to be one of the vital technologically superior automobiles on the street—LIDAR is not low cost and neither is secure, superior automated driving. The automobile can be similar to the sorts of entertainment-packed, software-driven automobiles more and more dominating the Chinese language market. If that is actually Sony’s try to catch up, it might simply ship. 

Nevertheless, Sony-Honda might must work on the vary and charging specs between now and 2026 (and 2027) if it actually desires the Afeela 1 to be a winner. The EV market is transferring quick, and if these two Japanese titans wish to justify that price ticket, they will want much more than fancy cruise management and in-car video video games. 

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