Sony and Honda had a vision: a technology-laden electric sedan loaded with 40 sensors, 18 cameras, lidar, radar, and enough autonomous driving ambition to make a Silicon Valley startup blush. The result was the Afeela 1, a $90,000-plus midsize EV that promised hands-free, eyes-off driving somewhere in the distant future. It’s now canceled before a single unit reached a customer’s driveway.
Sony Honda Mobility (SHM), the joint venture purpose-built to deliver a new luxury EV brand, has officially pulled the plug on both the Afeela 1 sedan and its upcoming four-door SUV sibling. In a joint statement, the two companies cited “changes in the electric vehicle market” as the driving force behind the decision.
The real structural problem is Honda. The Japanese automaker recently abandoned its next-generation EV platform. The one that was supposed to underpin the Acura RSX, the Honda 0 Series SUV, and the Honda 0 Series sedan. Since the Afeela vehicles were specifically designed around Honda’s proprietary technology and resources, SHM found itself holding an architectural blueprint with no building materials.
The Afeela 1 was already in pre-production at Honda’s East Liberty, Ohio facility. The SUV, potentially slated for a 2028 commercial launch, never made it past the planning stage. Both are now automotive history before becoming automotive present.
To be fair, the broader EV landscape isn’t exactly reassuring right now. Ford has halted F-150 Lightning production, Ram scrapped its 1500 electric pickup, Tesla is winding down the Model S and X, and the Chevrolet BrightDrop van has quietly disappeared from the market. It’s not a great moment to be launching a premium electric vehicle with modest specs.
Beneath all the sensor-packed futurism, the Afeela 1 offered around 300 miles of range and a maximum charging speed of 150 kilowatts. Figures that would have seemed impressive in 2021 but land somewhere between “fine” and “forgettable” in today’s market. A NACS charging port, at least, showed some pragmatic thinking.
