Sony Honda Mobility cancel EV collaboration plans

SONY-HONDA MOBILITY has announced that it will “discontinue the development and launch” of its Afeela1 electric sedan and following SUV after discussions between its parent companies, namely Sony Group Corporation and Honda Motor Company.

First mooted as an entertainment focused concept dubbed the Vision-S (pictured) at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) back in 2020, the Sony-Honda range of models was joined by the Vision-S 02 SUV and Vision-S 01 Sedan in 2022, models which would later form the basis of close-to-production-ready vehicles shown at last year’s CES in Las Vegas.

In a statement, Sony-Honda Mobility said the decision was made “as a result of Honda’s reassessment of its automobile electrification strategy announced on 12 March 2026 and factoring the changes to the EV market, the underlying assumptions of Sony-Honda Mobility’s business operations such as the utilisation of certain technologies and assets planned to be provided by Honda were fundamentally altered, resulting in the announcement by Sony-Honda Mobility today to discontinue the development and launch of its first model, Afeela 1, and its second model”.

The announcement follows news published by GoAuto Premium earlier this month that Honda was cancelling three new EV programs slated for the North American market as it faces losses totalling 2.5 trillion yen ($A22.4 billion) over two years.

It is Honda’s first loss since it went public in 1957, and has forced the company to reassess its entire EV business, a shift it says was brought about in part by “changes in the internal combustion engine and hybrid electric vehicle categories” brought on by US government policy changes.

“We recognise that the entire automotive industry is undergoing a major transition,” said Honda president and CEO Toshihiro Mibe earlier.

“Looking back, it was an issue requiring reflection that we were unable to sufficiently revise our strategy with flexibility and multiple scenarios in response to changes in market conditions and policy trends.”

The company said it was suffering from “intensified competition due to the rapid emergence of newer EV manufacturers,” and would incur impairment charges and losses from write-offs on EV models it had planned to make in North America, in addition to impairment losses due to stiffer competition in China.

Honda said it planned to strengthen its hybrid offerings and streamline its EV model line-up “in light of the recent slowdown”.

“Honda will promote electrification flexibly from a long-term perspective, while balancing profitability and demand trends,” it said in statement, with Mr Mibe adding that the Honda 0 Saloon, Honda 0 SUV and Acura RSX were “hardly viable” under current market conditions.

“I’m fully aware of the passion poured in by many employees, business partners and sales staff, as well as the high expectations expressed by our customers,” he said.

Like many other manufacturers, Honda had planned to eliminate sales of internal combustion engine vehicles and only sell EVs and fuel cell vehicles by 2040. However, Mr Mibe told the press conference Honda will now focus on hybrid vehicles.