Sony and Honda finally launch pre-orders for their first car, the Afeela 1

Honda and Sony finally unveil the first collaboration, in particular to fight against the new Tech giants who are launching into the automobile industry. But the Afeela 1 sedan is aimed at a wealthy audience.

There are no longer any barriers in the automotive industry. Historical manufacturers are no longer the only ones to manufacture the final product since other large companies are getting involved: CATL is launching into the design of integrated chassis, Xiaomi is already gaining momentum with its brand new Xiaomi SU7 and today we have today Honda and Sony which unveils the first fruit of their collaboration. A large electric sedan called Afeela 1, which will initially only be sold in the United Stateswhere it will be produced. And looking at the technical sheet, we actually say to ourselves that it is a very “American” product in spirit, like a Tesla Model S which was Tesla’s first real “mainstream” model at the beginning of its history. Will SHM (Sony Honda Mobility) do the same?

Nearly 500 hp

This grand tourer with a smooth look like a beach pebble doesn’t really surprise from an aesthetic point of view. We find almost all the recent codes of Asian electric cars, mainly Chinese, with front and rear strips and necessarily dense technological content. Particularly for the IT and software part since Sony is in charge. There is still a visual feature on this Afeela 1: a lidar mounted on the roof and protruding like an air inlet, which will be used for autonomous driving. Remember that at Tesla, we prefer to rely solely on cameras, abandoning lidars.

4.91 meters long, this Afeela 1 houses a 91 kWh battery which on paper is nothing very extraordinary. We might have expected a little more from Japanese giants like these but the maximum charging power is at 150 kW (which suggests a voltage of 400V) and autonomy at 480 km. The Afeela 1 is a four-wheel drive with two motors developing around 490 hp.

Not given

Obviously, such a 100% electric road car will not be for the general public. The Signature Edition will be priced at $102,900 at launch and a cheaper version at $89,900 will come later with smaller rims which will probably improve comfort. Honda specifies that certain components of this Afeela 1 will be found on the new range of Honda Zero electrics which we will soon discover. As for marketing in Europe, we shouldn’t expect to see this Afeela 1 before the end of the decade, if the sauce obviously takes off.