Sony Honda JV plans decade-long lease for high-tech EV

LAS VEGAS -- Sony and Honda's joint electric brand, Afeela, is targeting leases of up to 10 years.

The companies believe that people who buy the car will hold on to it that long because software updates will keep it fresh, said Sony Honda Mobility Chairman and CEO Yasuhide Mizuno.

Sony and Honda unveiled the Afeela brand at the CES here last week, rolling out a sedan concept to preview its debut model, which is due in 2026.

Sales of the EV will start in Europe in late 2026-early 2027, Mizuno said, which is shortly after the U.S. and Japan market launches.

"Replacing the car every three to five years is a very traditional methodology," Mizuno told journalists on the sidelines of the show. "But now: big change. This car is always updating; therefore, we try to utilize customers over five to 10 years."

The new brand will install a costly computer chip from U.S. supplier Qualcomm that can perform 800 trillion operations per second (TOPS) to ensure the car will accept the latest software, even later in its life. By contrast the Qualcomm chip in the new Volvo EX90 electric flagship SUV can perform 10 TOPS.

"We focus on the future," Mizuno said, adding that an 800 TOPS chip will be powerful enough to enable Level 3 and Level 4 autonomous driving when regulations allow.

The midsize car will be equipped with 45 sensors including lidar to give it the hardware it needs to drive autonomously from the beginning.

"The car itself is a bit expensive, but subscription [leasing] payments are not so damaging," Mizuno said.

People who lease the car can either opt out of the updates to reduce the monthly figure over time, or accept upgrades to, for example, the entertainment and driver assistance systems, and pay the same lease rate even as the car ages, Mizuno said.

A similar idea with a different twist has been announced by Honda rival Toyota, which said late last year it will offer discounts to leasing customers for its new Prius if they accept safety updates over the course of a longer-term lease.

Sony Honda Mobility, a Tokyo-based startup that has about 200 employees, will lean on the resources of Sony Corp. to supply the software as well as music and entertainment content.

The partnership helps Honda address a "weak point," in terms of software expertise, Mizuno, who previously worked for the automaker, told the journalists.

"Honda does not have any music or entertainment content, or sensor technology. But Sony does. It's a very good combination for us," Mizuno said.

Afeela will use Honda's new electric e:Architecture, which will also underpin a Honda-badged car due to arrive around the same time as Afeela's first model, Mizuno said.

The car will likely be manufactured in the U.S., he added. Honda is planning to build an electric vehicle manufacturing hub in the state of Ohio.

Sony Honda Mobility finalized the joint venture last June, naming Izumi Kawanishi, a Sony executive vice president, the startup's president and chief operating officer

The partnership followed Sony's announcement at the 2020 CES that it wanted to enter the automotive industry. It used that year's show to reveal the Vision-S EV sedan. Sony unveiled an electric SUV last year.

Afeela will likely follow its sedan with an SUV and potentially a second sedan or a minivan, Mizuno said.

"We are thinking about our second and third models," he said. "We need a lineup."