The new brand of electric cars from Sony and Honda presented its first model this Tuesday at CES. It’s not cheap: the manufacturer is asking a high price for the Afeela 1, which starts at almost US$90,000 — around 85,000 euros.
Exactly one year ago, Sony revealed the prototype of its electric car, built in partnership with Honda — which could be .
In a press conference held this Tuesday, during CES 2025, the CEO of Sony, Kenichiro Yoshidapresented its , the first model produced by Sony Honda Mobility, the consortium that resulted from .
With an entry price of $89,900 (around 85,000 euros), the Afeela 1 is already available — for now, only in California, Yoshida announced, without saying when it is expected to be available on the world market.
The vehicle will be available, from 2026, in two versions: the $89,000 Afeelia 1 Origin, and the Afeela 1 Signaturewith a base price of 102,900 dollars — around 99 thousand euros.
The price includes a three-year free subscription for a variety of in-car featuresincluding Level 2+ driver assistance and an AI-powered personal assistant — an option that seems to confirm the temptation of vehicle manufacturers to customers to whom they have already sold the car.
Among the specifications that we can consult in the configurator, there is a autonomy of up to 480km and integrated support for the Supercharger network from Tesla. The only paint option appears to be “Core Black”.
The latest version of the prototype, which the CEO of Sony Honda Mobility, Yasuhide Mizunodescribed as “almost final”, it seems a mix of a Tesla and a Lucid Airwith short overhangs and a long wheelbase, notes the .
The EV has screens across the entire width of the panel of instruments, 40 sensors and cameras for assistance semi-autonomous drivingall-wheel drive and suggestions for integration of augmented reality and “virtual worlds” incorporated into the driving experience.
Sony’s first foray into the automotive sector is designed to compete with some of the major players in the luxury electric vehicle space, The Verge points out.
Mizuno demonstrated one of the most advanced features of the Afeela 1 when he called the vehicle to the stage, with the voice command “Come on out, Afeela” dictated to your cell phone.
According to the CEO of Sony Honda Mobility, this was “a technical demonstration for this presentation,” so it’s unclear whether voice commands will become a production feature.
