Sony and Honda kill its Afeela EVs

Sony Honda Mobility, the automotive enterprise from two of Japan’s most storied firms, has swung the axe on its EV challenge. In a statement, it stated it might “discontinue the event and launch” of the Afeela 1 and a couple of, its long-in-development electrical vehicles. The corporate added it might assessment its “enterprise course,” and announce its future plans “on the earliest potential alternative.” Which, if we’re sincere, most likely means the entire thing goes to be shut down, or scaled again a lot it’s now not value speaking about.

2026 has not been an amazing 12 months for Honda. On March 12, it posted an up-to $15.7 billion loss because it wrote off a giant chunk of its funding in EVs. The US’ pivot towards fossil fuels, removing of federal EV tax credit and the imposition of tariffs has hit its enterprise fairly laborious. To not point out the high-profile embarrassment of its present F1 engine challenge with Aston Martin, which promised a lot and has delivered lower than nothing.

Sony’s journey into the automotive world started six years in the past with the announcement of the Imaginative and prescient-S, the automobile which might finally be re-christened Afeela. However whereas the product appeared good on commerce present stands, it stood nonetheless whereas the remainder of the automobile world sprinted forward. In January, Tim Stevens said Afeela 1 appeared a bit of dated, and a bit of missing in emotion, and much more costly than comparable fashions from rivals. It’s additionally value noting Sony and Honda’s imaginative and prescient of a wise gadget on wheels is hardly a novel idea lately.

To not point out that Afeela 1 is a sedan, being bought to a world that’s more and more fallen out of affection with the kind in favor of higher-riding SUVs. In Sony’s assertion, nevertheless, the SUV-aping Afeela 2 did not even get a point out by identify, which hints that it was as a lot an afterthought for the corporate as we’d have guessed when it was introduced.