Sony and Honda announced the Afeela electric vehicle range at CES 2024 this week. If you don’t know, Sony and Honda have been working together on a joint venture to make an electric vehicle and have it ready in the North American market by 2026. The Afeela is that dream.
During the Sony CES press conference in Las Vegas, Sony Honda Mobility CEO Yasuhide Mizuno said the car will leverage Sony’s experience with AI, entertainment, virtual reality and augmented reality to deliver a unique EV unlike anything the market has ever seen. So unique that the EV can even be driven with a DualSense Controller.
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The Afeela packs quite a robust list of sensors including over 40 arrays such as cameras, radars, ultrasonic and lidar sensors throughout the exterior of the vehicle. As a result, it is able to detect objects and drive autonomously.
Sony wowed the crowd during its press conference by showcasing the Afeela under control of a DualSense Controller. The car was seen driving onto the stage as Yasuhide Mizuno accelerated the vehicle using the controller and even turned the steering wheel using the analogue stick.
Of course, Sony says this isn’t actually a feature. It was more a tech showcase (or a marketing gimmick). When the vehicle launches in the distant future, Sony will unlikely have you controlling it with a video game controller. However, the concept in theory is fun to witness.
It also goes to show how close Sony and Honda are in working on this project. So much so that Sony’s tech and research has been implemented into almost every feature on board the Afeela. Even its gaming features. It would be pretty cool if the EV packed a PS5 in there somewhere which you can play while it autonomously drives you around the city. We can only dream.
The Afeela has been in development for a few years now. Back in 2022, Honda announced the partnership with Sony on the vehicle. It is expected to go into mass production in 2025 across Honda’s 12 facilities in the United States. It will only be sold in the US at first in 2026 and then Japan and Europe at a later date. Pre-orders are expected to open next year. There’s no pricing available.
Sony showed its electric car on stage at #CES2024 by driving it… using a PlayStation 5 DualSense controller? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/pCbbK4IVSL
— Alvin (@sondesix) January 9, 2024
