Sony and Honda will scale down their joint EV venture, reassigning staff after halting Afeela car development due to market challenges
TOKYO: Sony Group and Honda Motor will scale down operations at their joint electric vehicle venture, Sony Honda Mobility.
The decision follows last month’s halt to development of the venture’s Afeela brand cars.
Employees at the joint venture are expected to be reassigned to the two parent companies.
The firms announced the move in a joint statement on Tuesday.
They concluded it would be difficult to bring products aligned with the venture’s founding purpose to market in the short to medium term.
This difficulty persists under the venture’s current operational framework.
The companies said they remain committed to delivering value through software for the user experience.
This commitment continues even as the joint venture’s activities are reduced.
Sony Honda Mobility announced it would stop developing Afeela cars in March.
That decision followed a broader review of Honda’s electrification strategy.
The joint venture was established in 2022 to combine Honda’s engineering with Sony’s software and gaming expertise.
