Photo: Sony
In March, Sony finally stopped with that silly talk that it was not planning to sell a car it spent time and millions developing. While it seemed it would build it with Magna, Sony chose a Japanese company to help it make it: Honda. Now we know what their joint venture is called, and the name is rather uninspired: Sony Honda Mobility Inc.
We find it difficult to call the Vision-S or the Vision-S 02 something built by Sony Honda. Either we’ll just call it a Sony, and that’s it, or the new company will elaborate a new name for the manufacturer that this new joint venture created. We’ll have plenty of time to learn about that: the first services and products will only be available by 2025 – if it receives all due regulatory approvals.
The date for the company to present its first vehicle means it wants three years to offer its first vehicles. In other words, they will probably be developed from the ground up. That could mean that the new “Sony Honda Whatever” would sit on a Honda architecture. But there’s a problem: Honda’s first electric platform – the Honda e: Architecture – will only debut in 2026.
Apart from an electric kei car that will be put for sale in 2024, all other electric Hondas will be built over GM’s Ultium platform. Considering that the “Sony Honda Whatever” will focus on the American market, it could also use this architecture if GM is ok with that. The other possibility is that Sony and Honda are ok with paying Magna to use the platform that underpins the Vision-S and the Vision-S 02. That would give them a chance to reach customers as they are. At this point, it looks like a remote possibility.
Whether with the Ultium or Magna’s platform, the new EVs from the joint venture will present “cutting-edge vehicle body manufacturing technology.” That seems to suggest massive castings. Sony should focus on software and onboard technology. Whatever this new company plans to offer, it has our attention. Let’s hope it can keep it for three years.
The date for the company to present its first vehicle means it wants three years to offer its first vehicles. In other words, they will probably be developed from the ground up. That could mean that the new “Sony Honda Whatever” would sit on a Honda architecture. But there’s a problem: Honda’s first electric platform – the Honda e: Architecture – will only debut in 2026.
Apart from an electric kei car that will be put for sale in 2024, all other electric Hondas will be built over GM’s Ultium platform. Considering that the “Sony Honda Whatever” will focus on the American market, it could also use this architecture if GM is ok with that. The other possibility is that Sony and Honda are ok with paying Magna to use the platform that underpins the Vision-S and the Vision-S 02. That would give them a chance to reach customers as they are. At this point, it looks like a remote possibility.
Whether with the Ultium or Magna’s platform, the new EVs from the joint venture will present “cutting-edge vehicle body manufacturing technology.” That seems to suggest massive castings. Sony should focus on software and onboard technology. Whatever this new company plans to offer, it has our attention. Let’s hope it can keep it for three years.
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