The Sony-Honda Afeela EV Will Begin At $102,900, Arrive In Mid-2026

Here is a query: How a lot is taking part in Fortnite natively in your automobile actually value it?

If it is value not less than $102,900, contemplate being one of many first in line to order the Sony-Honda Afeela 1. The electrical sedan, a three way partnership between two of Japan’s high client know-how firms, was revealed in manufacturing spec this night at CES. And it is undoubtedly not going to be low cost. 

Photograph by: InsideEVs

The Afeela 1’s debut mannequin, the Signature collection, will begin at $102,900 and deliveries are slated to begin in mid-2026. If that is a bit too steep for you, contemplate ready till 2027 for the Origin trim. That one is just going to be $89,900. Refundable reservations can be taken on-line for $200. 

Photograph by: Honda

Sony-Honda Afeela 1 CES 2025

As we have lined at previous CES-es and in our digital tour in New York, the Afeela 1 is the product of a three way partnership between Honda and Sony that may also yield an SUV and ultimately cheaper electrical fashions. Whereas it is being constructed by Honda in Ohio, Sony may be very a lot the one within the driver’s seat right here. The automobile is a sort of try and put Japan’s EV choices on par with the high-tech, software-defined electrical fashions popping out of China recently—and in order that Sony would not get left behind within the race to place extra know-how, gaming and leisure instantly into your automobile. 

Powered by a 91 kWh battery pack, the Afeela 1 boasts two electrical motors entrance and rear rated at 180 kW, so its whole system output must be round 480 horsepower. Vary is estimated round 300 miles, and it boasts fast-charging speeds of as much as 150 kW. The Afeela 1 will pack a Tesla-style North American Charging Customary (NACS) plug from the manufacturing facility. 

Sadly, that vary and charging velocity places the Afeela 1 far behind many fashionable EV opponents, particularly round that price ticket. A equally priced Lucid Air, for instance, has a peak charging fee of over 300 kW and has a spread of not less than 420 miles. 

Photograph by: Honda

Sony-Honda Afeela 1 CES 2025

However at tonight’s CES press convention, Sony officers pressured the Afeela 1’s technical competence. The sedan drove itself onstage whereas mobility chief Yasuhide Mizuno boasted that it got here to “near-final” type in lower than two years. Mizuno mentioned that the Afeela 1 could have a number of the most superior automated driving help options in the marketplace because of a complete of 40 sensors, together with 18 cameras, 1 LIDAR array, 9 radar units and 12 ultrasonic sensors. Solely a small handful of LIDAR-equipped automobiles are, or can be, in the marketplace quickly, together with the Polestar 3 and Volvo EX90. 

Comparisons will inevitably be drawn to Tesla, which is a pacesetter within the automated driving area however controversially does so solely with cameras and synthetic intelligence—one thing critics say is nice for cost-cutting however leaves the automobiles much less conscious and fewer succesful than they might be with different sensor sorts. “Afeela’s AI notion is used to precisely acknowledge the encompassing surroundings, and its AI planner is used to create optimum driving plans,” Mizuno mentioned. 

Photograph by: Honda

Sony-Honda Afeela 1 CES 2025

As soon as ADAS is activated, the automobile “proactively talks to you,” present the driving force and its passengers with helpful details about what’s on the highway. When parked, it additionally offers entry to in-car leisure within the type of video video games, music, films and extra—a lot of it from Sony’s huge content material library, in fact. 

Furthermore, not less than for now, Afeela 1 reservations will solely be taken for residents in California, however Mizuno mentioned that there are plans to “step by step increase to different states.”

Will folks purchase it? It is lots of coin for a brand new model (albeit one from two household-name gamers) at a time when the automobile market, electrical or in any other case, is trending closely towards extra inexpensive fashions. Nevertheless it’s additionally not unusual for brand new EV makers to launch with their costliest and premium fashions whereas they work to get manufacturing scale up whereas driving prices down.

Furthermore, in its protection, the Afeela 1 does appear to be some of the technologically superior automobiles on the highway—LIDAR is not low cost and neither is protected, superior automated driving. The automobile can also be similar to the sorts of entertainment-packed, software-driven automobiles more and more dominating the Chinese language market. If that is actually Sony’s try and catch up, it might simply ship. 

Nonetheless, Sony-Honda might must work on the vary and charging specs between now and 2026 (and 2027) if it actually desires the Afeela 1 to be a winner. The EV market is shifting quick, and if these two Japanese titans wish to justify that price ticket, they’re going to want much more than fancy cruise management and in-car video video games. 

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