Sony and Honda discontinue Afeela EV joint venture

The joint venture announced today that it will stop production of the $90,000 Afeela 1 electric sedan, in addition to The unnamed Afeela SUV conceptas it adapts to the slowdown in demand for electric vehicles and the decline in policy. In a statementSony Honda Mobility (SHM) has decided there is “no viable path forward” after Honda recalibrated its electric vehicle strategy following huge losses.

Earlier this month, Honda said it would seek a write-down of up to 2.5 trillion yen ($15.7 billion) of its electric vehicle investments, marking the company’s first annual loss in more than 70 years as a public entity. Automaker too Putting the kibosh on several planned electric vehiclesincluding Honda Zero Series sedans and SUVs. And now the ax fell on Afila as well.

“Since its establishment in September 2022, SHM aims to develop and sell high value-added mobility products and provide mobility-related services by combining the technologies, expertise and development capabilities of Sony and Honda,” the joint venture said in a statement. “However, as a result of Honda’s re-evaluation of its automotive electrification strategy announced on March 12, 2026, SHM will no longer be able to use certain technologies and assets that were originally intended to be supplied by Honda at the time of initial business planning to SHM. In light of this change, SHM has determined that it does not have a viable path forward to bring the models to market as originally planned.”

SHM said it would refund customers who deposited $200 to book Afeela in the future.

In some ways, Afela seemed more like a platform for Sony’s entertainment offerings than a driving machine. It features dashboard-width displays, 40 sensors and cameras to assist with semi-autonomous driving, all-wheel drive, and hints at the integration of augmented reality and “virtual worlds” built into the driving experience. Sony recently said that Playstation 5 owners will be able to Streaming games Directly to the car’s infotainment system.

But now, she became the slave The latest victim of the auto industry’s downsizing of electric vehicles. Even as gas prices rise and customers become more interested in electric vehicles, automakers are consolidating their model lineups again and taking huge losses as a result. Some are scrambling to develop more affordable models to compete with the expected flood of cheap Chinese electric cars, while others are delaying the transition altogether. Electric vehicle sales continue to rise in Europe and China, but so are automakers Facing challenges In those countries as well.