The upcoming AFEELA EV, a joint effort between Sony and Honda, is now out there for viewing to the general public in Los Angeles, prematurely of its scheduled California launch in 2026.
We first heard about Sony’s upcoming EV again at CES 2020, the place the corporate introduced a shock EV idea which, frankly, we by no means thought would occur.
Quick ahead to now, and after a whole lot of developments and a partnership with Honda, Sony is now promising that the car will likely be out there subsequent yr – in California, a minimum of. It just lately began taking $200 reservations, although these are restricted to California solely in the interim.
Upfront of this launch, Sony Honda Mobility (SHM) is now displaying the automobile to the general public, in what has change into a well-liked methodology for EV makers (ever since Tesla and George Blankenship pioneered it): opening a mall location.
That spot is correct within the coronary heart of the place the AFEELA EV is perhaps the most well-liked – Century Metropolis, a neighborhood of Los Angeles with an extended historical past of attachment to the film trade, on the Westfield Century Metropolis mall on Santa Monica Blvd.
The studio opened to the general public this weekend, and will likely be open for the subsequent six months (till August 1). The general public can come round at any time and take a look on the car and ask questions, or can guide a demo of the automobile’s inside and applied sciences (however no check drives but, although).
We beforehand had an opportunity to get palms on with the AFEELA prototype on the identical mall, although that was at a brief sales space reasonably than a devoted house. It was filled with fairly a couple of neat options, however there was nonetheless a whole lot of work to be completed.
As a reminder, SHM just lately introduced a $89,900 base value for the AFEELA, although left the door open for extra subscription charges for some options after an preliminary 3-year interval. The primary out there trim stage, the AFEELA 1 Signature, will begin at $102,900.
So, should you’d wish to test it out for your self and are in Southern California, you may head on over any time, or guide a time slot prematurely for an in-car demonstration.
Electrek’s Take
I’ve been impressed with the maturity of the tempo of Sony’s bulletins with this car. Whereas it appeared a bit of pie-in-the-sky initially after they introduced the idea, yearly they’ve refined it and have largely evaded making unrealistic guarantees or loopy timelines, in contrast to another EV startups on the market.
That’s, till final yr, after they joined the AI buzzword bandwagon, which appeared like a complete waste of time. Plus, the current announcement of a $90k base value and extra suggestion of long-term subscription charges for characteristic use was not nice to listen to – however that hasn’t been finalized but, so we’ll should see precisely the place issues go from right here.
There does nonetheless appear to be a whole lot of work to do over the course of the subsequent yr earlier than the AFEELA’s “mid-2026” launch, however issues do factor to be progressing at an affordable tempo
And, oddly sufficient, regardless of its late entry to the EV market, that is nonetheless going to be one of many first Japanese EVs out there within the US. Toyota has the bZ4X (and the derivate Lexus RZ and Subaru Solterra), Nissan has the Leaf and Ariya, and Honda has the Prologue (and Acura ZDX) – which is made in partnership with GM. In the meantime, an organization identified for its client leisure merchandise goes to leap into the pack with the remainder of its nation’s auto trade – by constructing a ground-up EV earlier than a few of its countrymen did so.
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