US – Afeela, a new joint venture by Sony and Honda, is shaking up the automotive space by envisaging the car of tomorrow, labelled as a ‘moving entertainment space’.
Set to hit the market in 2025, the Afeela EV merges Honda’s automotive expertise with Sony’s sensor technology. The result is an entirely electric vehicle boasting a sleek design and prioritising entertainment and interaction for passengers and driver alike thanks to automatic driving settings powered by 45 sensors and cameras.
Inside, the car is designed as an entertainment space, with features including interfaces developed by gaming company Epic Games, screens for movie streaming and AR driving assistance graphics.
‘We want to think out of the box to revisit the underlying philosophy of vehicle design,’ says Yasuhide Mizuno, chairman and CEO of Sony Honda Mobility. ‘In addition to movies, games and music, we envisage a new in-cabin experience using our expertise of UX and UI technologies.’
The purpose of a car has evolved beyond mobility, and consumers are expecting new features and added benefits from their vehicles – whether it is in the shape of Auto Entertainment, or workspace car concepts.
Strategic opportunity
Mobility and entertainment are two increasingly intertwined sectors, opening up a market for hybrid offerings serving these two purposes