Honda continues to make moves as it backtracks from its electric-vehicle plans in North America. After recently cancelling development projects for three EVs of its own – the Honda 0 sedan and Honda 0 SUV and the Acura RSX – the Japanese automaker is pulling the plug on the Afeela 1, its planned all-electric sedan being developed in partnership with Sony.
The electric sedan was scheduled to be introduced later this year, but it’s now off the table, as is the Afeela 1 SUV that was to follow.
The specially created Honda Sony Mobility (SHM) firm, established in the fall of 2022, had actually started taking pre-orders on the Afeela 1 in California, to show you how far the project had advanced. But any deposits collected will be returned to buyers. SHM said in a statement it will “continue its discussions with Sony and Honda regarding future projects.”
This latest change of plans is no surprise, given the other recent cancellations of BEV development projects, and that Honda has made clear that it now plans to focus on producing hybrid models in the short and medium terms. It’s expected Honda will launch a new generation of hybrid models starting in 2027.
From Sony’s point of view, it had counted on Honda’s car manufacturing expertise and ability to deliver a new EV-dedicated vehicle platform. With Honda pulling out of that field almost completely for the time being, Sony, with its expertise lying mainly in the fields of entertainment and connectivity technologies, has lost its dance partner.