Sony Opens Reservations for its First EV
One of the big surprises of CES 2025 was that Sony is finally bringing its Afeela EV to market. The electronics giant has been teasing the electric sedan for years and on occasion has said that it would not bring the car to market only to reverse that decision and say that it would begin production of the electric vehicle.
The Afeela 1 is expected to begin production in 2025 and Sony expects to begin customer deliveries in mid-2026. Sony is teaming up with Honda for production. The automaker will build the Afeela 1 at its Ohio EV Hub alongside its own 0 Series electric vehicles.
The Afeela 1 will ship in two trim levels. The Origin starts at $89,900 while the Signature will begin at $102,900. The Signature will be first to market in mid-2026 while the Origin is expected in 2027. Borth vehicles will ship with a 91-kWh capacity battery pack. The Origin is expected to have a range up to 300 miles. The Signature with its larger wheels will likely have a smaller range number.
Both trim levels will be built on a 400-volt architecture and will DC fast charge at up to 150kW and AC charge at up to 11kW. All Afeela vehicles will be outfitted with SAE J3400 (NACS) ports and will support Tesla's Supercharger network.
Sony was keen to highlight the connectivity of the vehicles with OTA updates, a voice-activated "Personal Agent" that learns and adapts to the driver's needs and driver's assistance features that employ the vehicle's 40 sensors.
For fans of other Sony products and content, the company announced that the cabin of the vehicle will be a "Mobility as a Creative Entertainment Space." In the past, the company has highlighted its movies and musical artists when demoing the vehicle.
Initially, the vehicle will only be available in California and Sony is currently taking $200 reservations from interested California residents. To help sell the vehicle, Sony will be opening two Studio & Delivery Hubs in Fremont and Torrance, California. These are expected to open in the second half of 2025 and will serve as dealerships for the vehicle.