Looks great. I like the sedan quite a bit.


I remember when SONY was #1. They could finance an automotive assembly plant, with the box office returns from the amazing Spiderman movie that was just released

 

https://news.yahoo.com/sony-looking-...031306650.html

Sony seeks new partners for transformative EV project -executive

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Sony seeks new partners for transformative EV project -executive

FILE PHOTO: Sony Corp's logo is seen at its news conference in Tokyo


Tim Kelly and Shinji Kitamura
Thu, January 20, 2022, 10:13 PM·2 min readBy Tim Kelly and Shinji Kitamura

TOKYO (Reuters) -Sony Group will likely add new technology partners to its electric vehicle (EV) project to help it forge a mobility business to transform cars from transportation machines to entertainment spaces, a Sony executive told Reuters.

An ongoing shift to electric cars, which are easier to build than those with internal combustion engines, is allowing new entrants into vehicle manufacturing. At the same time, autonomous driving and 5G connectivity is expected remold the auto industry by turning cars into mobile platforms for information and entertainment services.

"We see the risk of ignoring EVs as greater than the challenge they pose," Izumi Kawanishi, the senior general manager who will manage a new Sony Mobility business, said in an interview. The coming transformation of cars was in some ways similar to how information technology turned phones into smartphones, he added.

Announcing the creation of that new mobility unit at the CES technology tech fair in Las Vegas this month, Sony Chief Executive Kenichiro Yoshida suggested for the first time that the creator of PlayStation games consoles will try to turn an EV development project started two years ago into a money-making venture.

"We understand that speed is important in terms of making a decision," said Kawanishi, who joined the Japanese consumer electronics company as a software engineer in 1986 and heads the AI Robotics unit making Sony's Aibo robot pet.

Kawanishi declined to say whether a final decision on whether to go ahead would come this year.

PARTNERS

So far, Sony has built 2 EV "Vision" prototypes with a factory in Austria owned by Canadian auto parts maker Magna International, which also makes cars for firms including BMW, Mercedes Benz and Toyota Motor Corp .

Other members of its Europe-based project include German auto parts maker Bosch, French automotive technology company Valeo SE and Hungarian autonomous vehicle start-up AImotive.

To bring an EV to market, Sony would likely have to invest heavily in plant and equipment. Tesla Inc, which delivered its first electric vehicle in 2008, has spent billions of dollars to make its business viable.

Sony will also have to take on traditional carmakers too, such as Toyota, General Motors Co and Volkswagen AG, which are spending tens of billions of dollars to beat the EV newcomers.

Sony is one of a growing list of technology firms exploring automotive opportunities, including iPhone maker Apple Inc, South Korea's LG Electronics Taiwan's Foxconn, and China's Alibaba Group

Sony will pick new partners for its EV project based on the technology they can bring to the project, without regard to their nationality, Kawanishi said, when asked if Sony would partner with Chinese companies.

(Reporting by Tim Kelly and Shinji Kitamura; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

 

very interesting observation. car is the new smartphone... hmm... one difference though is people keep their smartphones with them just about all the time.

but certainly a car can be an entertainment and information portal - heck it could even check drivers and passengers health as they go down the road...

ah the data, the DATA...

 

SONY should call their new car The SONY Walkman.

 

or the SONY Driveman. oh wait, you can't use "man" so maybe Driveperson.

 

They should only join if they are first willing to lose BILLIONS of dollars.

I would stick to video games and Metaverse if i were Sony.

 

Sony BetaEV.

 

Sony is just mad Tesla has Playstation 5 level graphics and games as a side feature.

 

Merged all the Sony EV discussions. Didn't realize there's not that much

 

LOL. Tit for tat.

 

Not ugly, but too boring.

 

https://hondanews.com/en-US/honda-co...ility-business

Sony and Honda Sign Joint Venture Agreement to Establish New Company, "Sony Honda Mobility Inc.", to Engage in Mobility Business

• Release

June 16, 2022 — Tokyo, JapanSony Group Corporation (“Sony”) and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (“Honda”) announced today that they have signed a joint venture agreement to establish a new company to engage in the sale of high-value-added electric vehicles (EVs) and provide services for mobility. Today’s announcement is the furtherance and result of discussion of a strategic alliance in the mobility field between the parties as announced in the joint press release entitled “Sony and Honda Sign Memorandum of Understanding for Strategic Alliance in Mobility Field” on March 4, 2022.

The new company will aim to bring together Honda’s cutting-edge environmental and safety technologies, mobility development capabilities, vehicle body manufacturing technology and after-sales service management experience, with Sony’s expertise in the development and application of imaging, sensing, telecommunication, network and entertainment technologies, to realize a new generation of mobility and services for mobility that are closely aligned with users and the environment, and continue to evolve going forward.

Sony and Honda plan to establish the new company within 2022 and to begin the sale of EVs and provision of services for mobility in 2025. The establishment of the new company and the start of business are subject to relevant regulatory approvals.

New Company Overview (Planned) Company name: Sony Honda Mobility Inc. Location: Tokyo, Japan Capital: 10 billion yen Investment ratio: Sony Group Corporation 50%, Honda Motor Co., Ltd. 50% Members of the board: Yasuhide Mizuno, Representative Director, Chairman and CEO
Izumi Kawanishi, Representative Director, President and COO
Shugo Yamaguchi, Director and Deputy President
Kojiro Okabe, Director and Executive Vice President Manabu Ozawa, Director (Honda Motor Co., Ltd.)
Naoya Horii, Director (Sony Group Corporation)

Comment from Kenichiro Yoshida, Representative Corporate Executive Officer, Chairman, President and CEO, Sony Group Corporation
“Based on our vision to ‘make the mobility space an emotional one,’ Sony’s initiatives in the mobility business are centered around the 3 areas of safety, entertainment and adaptability. As we continue our learnings in these areas, we are excited to have met a partner, Honda, with extensive global achievements and knowledge, and to sign the joint venture agreement between the two companies. Going forward, we aim to contribute to the evolution of mobility by combining Honda’s cutting-edge environmental and safety technologies, mobility development capabilities, vehicle body manufacturing technology and after-sales service management experience, with our expertise in imaging, sensing, telecommunication, network and entertainment technologies.”

Comment from Toshihiro Mibe, Director, President, Representative Executive Officer and CEO, Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
“Honda continues to take on new challenges in the environmental, safety, and other advanced fields in order to be a driving force for social change through mobility, and ‘become the power that supports people around the world who are trying to do things based on their own initiative.’ We are very pleased to have signed a joint venture agreement with Sony, which has strengths in advanced digital technology, and shares our desire to take on new challenges. Since its announcement in March, many people have expressed their expectations for this joint venture. At the new company, we will strive to create new value through the fusion brought about by the combination of our different industries, so please look forward to future developments.”

Comment from Yasuhide Mizuno, Representative Director, Chairman and CEO of Sony Honda Mobility Inc. (Planned) and Senior Managing Officer of Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
“We are very pleased to sign this joint venture agreement, which represents the start line from which we embark on the major challenge of revolutionizing mobility and creating new value. We plan to fully leverage the technological assets the 2 companies possess in different fields, such as Sony’s sensing technology and Honda’s original mobility development capabilities, to realize mobility and services that inspire and excite our customers. By bringing together the expertise of both companies, we aim to lead the way in a new era.”

Comment from Izumi Kawanishi, Representative Director, President and COO of Sony Honda Mobility Inc. (Planned) and Executive Vice President of Sony Group Corporation
“I am very pleased to have reached this day, which represents a major milestone in realizing the initiatives we have been working on until now with the aim of contributing to the evolution of mobility. By combining the many strengths of Sony and Honda, we intend to accelerate development and lead the evolution of mobility by realizing mobility as an emotional space rooted in safety and security, and the related services.”

Media inquiries:
Corporate Communications & Brand Strategy Dept., Sony Group Corporation Sony.Pressroom@sony.co.jp
Corporate Communications Department, Honda Motor Co., Ltd. hondapr@jp.honda

 

I'm guessing the car will not be named Walkman.

 

Two turkeys don't make an Eagle...

 

Vehicle and autonomy by 2025? Might be slightly optimistic.
Something about mobility.