Honda and Sony announced Friday that they are exploring the possibility of entering into a joint venture to develop and build electric vehicles.
The two companies say that with the joint venture, they will “engage in the joint development and sales of high-value-added electric vehicles (EVs) and commercialize them along with the provision of mobility services.” “.
There are no details on market positioning and whether the new venture will target Europe, the US, China and any combination of the three. Only Japan seems too small a market for this level of joint venture.
The message isn’t quite out of the left field as it might initially sound. Sony, the company known for generations for personal electronics, from the Walkman to the Playstation, surprises everyone with its Concept electric sedan Vision-WORLD presented at CES in January 2020. A year later, it turns out that the model is more than just a demo for the company’s entertainment tech, with test on the road. Then this year it revealed a Sony Vision-S 02 crossover SUV next concept.
Concept Sony Vision-S 02
However, the “strategic alliance” and the joint venture are still in the discussion stage and although they have signed a memorandum of understanding, Honda and Sony still need to reach agreements to jointly develop and produce, as well as legal aspects.
As the two companies have shown, the alliance can be mutually beneficial in that it combines Honda’s mobility development, manufacturing expertise, and sales and service experience with Sony’s focus on technology – specifically. especially imaging, sensors and connectivity.
Concept Sony Vision-S 02
The most surprising thing about the announcement is the timeline—and it’s an indication that this could be something along the lines of Volvo/Geely’s Polestar line. According to the companies, the first electric vehicle of the new venture will go on sale from 2025. While Honda is responsible for production, the “new company” will take care of the planning, design, development and sell.
It’s after Honda’s EV built under agreement with GM will come (one for Acura, one for Honda), but ahead of Honda’s long-awaited dedicated EV platform arrive. So it highlights that, if at all, finding a new company could very well speed things up.
