Afeela will be equipped with 45 cameras and sensors both inside and outside.
Sony and Honda on Wednesday revealed the prototype of their electric vehicle dubbed Afeela. Perhaps one of the biggest reveals at the Consumer Electronics Show this year, the electric sedan will debut in 2026 using Qualcomm technology and its preorders in North America are scheduled in the first half of 2025.
“Afeela represents our concept of an interactive relationship where people feel the sensation of interactive mobility and where mobility can detect and understand people and society by utilizing sensing and AI technologies,” Sony Honda Mobility chief executive officer Yasuhide Mizuno said and as read on the Indian Express.
Initially, Afeela will be manufactured at Honda’s North America factory, according to a report by TechCrunch. Under limited conditions, the new car will feature Level 3 automated driving, meaning a driver must take control of the self-driven car when the system requests.
Furthermore, Afeela will come with integrated external media along the front of the car. This would aid in interacting with other road users and sharing necessary information, the TechCrunch report noted. For safety purposes, the four-door sedan will be equipped with 45 cameras and sensors both inside and outside.
The report, citing the CEO of Sony Kenichiro Yoshida, added that the joint venture of the two companies would integrate Epics Games’ Unreal Engine into the car to offer best-in-class entertainment along with keeping in mind communication and safety.
Sony has been working on its EV ambitions for quite some time now despite the existing cut-throat competition in the EV space. However, with the announcement of Afeela, the company gets ahead of Apple which is also rumored to be working on developing an electric car. It is still unclear when the iPhone maker will launch its electric vehicle, but rumors suggest it could be unveiled in the same year as Afeela in 2026 for under $100,000.
