I was in an Afeela and I am so ready for this Sony Honda Mobility EV future

Sony Afeela may be just what this dormant self-driving EV industry needs. There I said it, and it’s a change of heart that comes from finally joining the prototype collaboration between Sony and Honda. Sony Afeela, the EV with the craziest name, might offer everything you want, including AI, in a next-level self-driving electric car.

It’s been a long road for Sony Honda Mobility’s self-driving Afeela EV prototype. We first heard of it years ago, when it was still called Sony Vision S. However, the rebrand introduced two years ago at CES 2023 caused some headaches.

Vision S was cool. Afeela is a softball for puns. Part of the problem is that Sony largely kept the media at bay. That changed this week when Sony began inviting the press to a Classic Car Club hanger on the west side of Manhattan.

(Image credit: Future/Lance Ulanoff)

Afeela is a joint project between Sony and Honda, and company representatives emphasize that it is a 50-50 venture. Honda didn’t just build an electric car and ask Sony for permission to develop the brand. Instead, both companies’ fingerprints are all over the car.