Right now, China’s electric vehicle sector is delivering a generation of new cars so high-tech that they make some of the best rides in America look like whatever hooptie you drove in high school. They’re electric, filled with screens and software features, and connected. Here’s a great example: the Xiaomi SU7, the first EV from the smartphone giant, which set China on fire with its high-tech and sleek design and sold 135,000 units in its first full year.
It’s clear that if Japan, Europe, and the U.S. want to compete, companies will need to team up and build the kinds of high-tech vehicles China already has—and fast. That’s exactly what Sony and Honda aim to do with their new luxury-tech EV brand, Afeela. Under a joint venture known as Sony-Honda Mobility, the Afeela brand plans to launch its first car, a $60,000 luxury sedan, in 2026.
You may recognize this concept—Sony and Honda debuted it at CES 2024, with customer orders set to open this year. Afeela has also promised an SUV and a cheaper model down the line. And an updated version of the prototype is set to debut at CES 2025 this evening.
Ahead of that event, InsideEVs was invited to check out a prototype of that first model in New York, and I was curious to get a look at it: Did it work? Is this approach to EVs something Americans will be interested in, and can the two companies actually bring it to fruition?
At first glance, the Afeela looks like the generic-drug equivalent of a Lucid Air, or perhaps a modern incarnation of a Saab 9-5. Either way, it’s sleek and inoffensive. But inside is where things get exciting. Up front, a curved, high-res display stretches from one side-view mirror to the other (in some markets, the Afeela won’t have mirrors at all, just cameras.) You can drag and drop maps, music menus, movies, and games from one side to another, and the front-seat passenger can watch a movie without glare distracting the driver. Of course, there are Sony tablets mounted to the seatbacks so that passengers in the surprisingly spacious back seat can keep themselves entertained, too.
Before anyone asks: Yes, you can play Fortnite in the Afeela, but only when the car is stopped. The representative couldn’t tell me whether gameplay required a nearby wireless connection to a PS5 (driveway at home) or whether a more remote connection was possible (office parking lot during a lunch break), but I’d have to imagine it’s the latter. That became a theme: I would ask for details on a feature, and would receive an answer of “stay tuned.”
These days, Sony may not carry quite the high-tech smartphone brand cachet of an Apple—or a Xiaomi—but its devices have undeniably changed realms of personal entertainment. The Walkman turned bringing music with you into a pocket-sized proposition, while the PlayStation is still the most successful line of gaming consoles ever produced. Pair that consumer instinct with Honda’s engineering might and Sony’s veritable treasure trove of a content library, and things get promising.
Building cars is hard, especially in today’s landscape of uncertain tariffs. Afeela clearly has a ways to go before the rubber meets the road. I’m rooting for Sony and Honda though, because this concept shows a genuine intent to compete with China in ways no one else has.
Check out the full video above for more on the Afeela’s tech. Do you think it could succeed here?
