This is the AFEELA prototype EV from Sony Honda Mobility

Autonomy, Augmentation and Affinity. According to press materials from Sony, these are the three main concepts that will define Sony and Honda’s direction as they make headway into the world of mobility in a joint venture.

This electric sedan pictured here is the first prototype from a new brand called AFEELA, birthed from Sony and Honda’s joint venture, aptly named Sony Honda Mobility Inc. (SHM).

Established late last year, Sony Honda Mobility Inc. (SHM) intends to become a mobility tech company that will venture EV production and mobility services. AFEELA’s new concept is intended to express the brand’s vision of “creating a new relationship between people and mobility”.

From the looks of it, AFEELA’s concept appears to be a streamlined, 4-door coupe with digital wing mirrors, slick aero-optimised rims and steeply raked C-pillars. The front fascia features a “Media Bar” digital display which allows drivers to interact with the outside world, louvres under the ‘grille’ for airflow and battery cooling and an LED bar spanning the front end. The sloping rear end tapers off with a steel boot lid that sees another continuous light bar. As a whole, it looks incredibly similar to another EV startup based out of California, but we'll gloss over that.

On the inside, a wraparound panel comprised of 4 screens spans the length of the dashboard. Two screens on either end for the wing mirror displays, a primary screen ahead of the driver and an expansive infotainment screen. The AFEELA prototype gets a yoke-style steering wheel with multi-function controls the interior sees minimal use of buttons, save for a row of HVAC controls in the middle of the dashboard and a rotary knob in the centre console.

The dimensions of the AFEELA prototype appear to nestle somewhere between a BMW i4 Gran Coupe and an Audi e-tron GT at 4,895mm long and 1900mm wide, though the new EV has a longer 3-meter wheelbase.

The AFEELA prototype is equipped with 45 cameras on the inside and out to detect road conditions and monitor the driver. The brand aims to develop Level 3 autonomous driving capabilities and Level 2+ driver assistance in urban areas.

To provide adequate processing power for the safety systems and the car itself, AFEELA is turning to Qualcomm Technologies to provide processors that can sustain up to 800 TOPS (Tera Operation Per Second) of maximum computing performance. AFEELA is also collaborating with Epic Games (the developers of a video game called ‘Fortnite’) for the entertainment systems and user interfaces.

No official name or model designation has been given to the prototype just yet, but AFEELA will begin taking orders for this new EV in the first half of 2025. Sales of this new EV are slated to commence at the end of 2025 and North American customer deliveries should begin in 2026.

Horsepower and torque figures are still undisclosed at the moment, same goes for battery size, efficiency figures and pricing (obviously). But we do know that it’ll have an AWD electric drivetrain with double wishbone suspension in the front and a multi-link setup in the rear.

It all sounds… like a car, doesn’t it? What do you reckon internet?

PHOTOS Sony Honda Mobility Inc.