Sony Honda Mobility Inc. (SHM) announced its new electric vehicle (EV) under the brand, AFEELA, at CES 2023.
The brand says that “AFEELA represents FEEL which is at the center of the mobility experience,” and that the name “expresses an interactive relationship where people FEEL mobility as an intelligent entity, and mobility FEELs people and society using sensing and network IT technologies.”
While not a lot of information about the vehicle has been released, SHM has said that it “strives to become a Mobility Tech Company that will pursue innovation in mobility by combining cutting-edge technology and passion along with people who pioneer the future with their creativity, based on our corporate purpose “Move people, through the pursuit of innovation with diverse inspirations.”
The prototype vehicle is equipped with a total of 45 cameras and sensors inside and outside the vehicle, Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensors to detect the driver and car’s situation to help avoid accidents, and 800 TOPS (Tera Operation Per Second) of maximum computing power for ECU powered by SoCs (System on a Chip) from Qualcomm Snapdragon Digital Chassis.
“The car is becoming increasingly connected and intelligent, and how we experience our vehicles is changing. The Snapdragon Digital Chassis serves as the foundation for next-generation software-defined vehicles, enabling new mobility experiences and services. We are excited to collaborate with Sony Honda Mobility to deliver on our shared vision for the car of the future,” says Cristiano Amon, President and CEO, Qualcomm Incorporated.
Sony Honda Mobility is partnering with Epic Games to research and develop new forms of entertainment by combining real and virtual worlds using digital technologies such as the metaverse.
The brand also intends on bringing new software features and updates to the vehicle via 5G which hopefully won’t result in a BMW-like move to charge people for things like heated seats.
SHM plans to start taking pre-orders in the first half of 2025, commence sales by the end of 2025, and begin delivery in the spring of 2026 in North America.
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