Latest news with #SonyHondaMobility
Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
Honda Super EV concept is the small EV more automakers should be building
At the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed, Honda is reminding driving enthusiasts that fun cars can come in all sizes. While the Japanese automaker is primarily celebrating the 60th anniversary of its first F1 win, it's also debuting the Super EV concept, a tiny hatchback that promises "fresh, 'fun-to-drive' electric performance alongside trademark Honda usability," according to a press release on Honda's Goodwood activities. Related: Honda's Super EV Concept Is Small, Electric, And Built For Fun Honda hasn't provided any additional details since announcing the Super EV concept last month, but upon first inspection, it certainly looks intriguing. With its upright profile and box fender flares, it looks like a sportier version of the Honda e (which was discontinued in 2023, having never made it to the United States), or a modern reinterpretation of the Honda City Turbo hatch from the 1980s. And its small size would make it a good competitor to the electric Mini Cooper and Fiat 500e. When it announced this concept car, Honda said it was part of a "wider global program," hinting that any future production version might not be as market-limited as the Honda e. But right now, Honda's EV efforts for the U.S. are focused on the roll out of its first "0 Series" models, including an SUV and sedan previewed earlier this year at CES, plus a crossover reviving the Acura RSX name using the same hardware, and the Afeela 1, the first product of the Sony Honda Mobility joint venture. But with Honda already having reportedly cancelled a three-row flagship electric SUV for the U.S. amid uncertainty about EV sales, it's unclear if the automaker would take the risk-which is exactly what it would be-of bringing a small EV to the U.S. The cancelled SUV was better suited to American tastes, and had a ready market to compete in, with the Kia EV9 selling reasonably well. A production version of the Super EV, in contrast, would be a niche model in the U.S. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Bloomberg
30-06-2025
- Automotive
- Bloomberg
Sony-Honda EV Venture Shows Mounting Loss Ahead of Afeela Debut
The joint electric car project by Sony Group Corp. and Honda Motor Co. saw its annual operating loss more than double to ¥52 billion ($362 million) as they work to begin selling their first car, the Afeela, this year. Sony Honda Mobility Inc. disclosed the deficit in a report for the latest fiscal year through March, which was released on Monday. The prior annual loss was ¥20.5 billion.
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WIRED
05-03-2025
- Automotive
- WIRED
The Future of Mobility Is an Extension of You
The new AFEELA 1 from Sony Honda Mobility is reimagining how drivers connect with their vehicles—and the world around them. Awash in excitement for a self-driving future, autonomous vehicle design often turns the passenger experience into sterile rooms-on-wheels with seats facing one another. But what if manufacturers started with a blank slate? How would the user experience mesh with other pieces of technology in our day-to-day lives? That's not just reimagining the automobile, it's rethinking mobility. AFEELA, a new brand under a joint venture between Sony and Honda—called Sony Honda Mobility—aims to do just that. Under Sony Honda Mobility (SHM), AFEELA's guiding principle is to tap into the key competencies of Sony and Honda, designing an experience that blends immersive entertainment, an open platform for creative expression, and next-generation autonomy all packaged up in a premium EV tuned for the next era of mobility. Announced at CES 2025 and set to be delivered in 2026, the brand's first model, AFEELA 1, is a full-size lift-back sedan replete with pillar-to-pillar panoramic screens, Sony's 360° Spatial Sound technologies, and myriad cabin customization options. It's an EV designed for a near future where, sure, you could spend your commute ruminating on your never-ending list of action items, but you could also be using all those speakers to create a more positive vibe amidst 8 am bridge traffic. Thanks to advanced sensing and computing performance, the AFEELA 1's 40 hardware sensors and Qualcomm Technologies' 800 trillions of operations per second (or TOPS) Snapdragon® Ride™ Platform SoC (System on a Chip)—AFEELA is able to keep the vehicle constantly aware of the world around it. And this intelligence begins as soon as the driver approaches the car. As long as they have the digital key, the AFEELA 1 can detect its driver approaching the car and open the door for them. From there, drivers can use AFEELA Intelligent Drive to select their destination and head off. Those plenitudinous sensors are doing more than opening doors—AFEELA is using all of that silicon to power advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) that can support drivers from their home to their destination. If you need to redirect your endpoint or pick some crispy tunes for the ride, AFEELA's personalized voice agent can make those adjustments on the fly. Once you reach your destination, AFEELA can find the ideal parking spot using fused data from the vehicle's LiDAR (light detection and ranging) and camera data. When in motion, the driver's dash layout can use AFEELA's radar and camera sensors to display an immersive sensing view of the surrounding environments via graphics and renderings powered by the latest version of Epic Games' Unreal Engine and real-time vehicle data. In addition to offering better operational awareness under normal conditions, this system can provide a clear view of the road ahead to navigate through adverse lighting conditions or complicated maneuvers, extending a driver's capabilities. Humanity is defined by the art, music, and media that they make and consume, and SHM developed the AFEELA brand and its first production model with self-expression as a foundational core. Between leaving their driveway and exiting the car, the average American commuter spends about 60 minutes driving roundtrip. That is time that, with advanced autonomous vehicles, can be taken back for catching up on emails, but AFEELA envisions so much more than that. Passengers front and rear can play films from the RIDEVU app from Sony and other media partners. Drivers are mechanically shielded from watching content while in motion, but while underway, they will be able to converse with the Personal Agent to get incredibly specific with their music selection. To truly live the 'I heard you liked X so I built Y into the car' meme, owners can even drive a digital rendering of the AFEELA 1 within Gran Turismo 7 —in the very AFEELA 1 they're sitting in. Other than the multitudinous screens, the vehicle's overall interior and exterior design is intentionally subtle—drivers are draped in active noise-canceling tech to create a tranquil environment in which to spend time (or blast tracks in immersive surround sound). This tranquility creates a tabula rasa upon which owners can project their digital personality in ways a color-shifting vinyl wrap never could. After all, like the dad wearing his favorite band T-shirt to preschool drop-off, we all crave connection, and part of that connection is broadcasting our aesthetic preferences as signposts for other enthusiasts. For instance, the AFEELA 1's Media Bar—a digital screen in the front fascia—can be customized to dynamically display messages from informative (like vehicle charge status, warning lights, and the weather) to whimsical (animated lights, the AFEELA logo, and graphics from triple-A gaming titles). Inside the car, the cabin can be augmented with distinct UI themes and lighting profiles, e-Motor Sound effects, and more that reflect your mood. To keep this space fresh, AFEELA has announced that it will develop the Co-Creation Program, an open platform where creators and developers around the world can release content, applications, and services that run on AFEELA and help express a driver's creativity. This commitment to evolution is another AFEELA brand pillar. The AFEELA 1 is outfitted with all of the state-of-the-art sensors that you could possibly want in a car at a time when some production vehicles are being stripped back to the bare minimum viable product. For instance, while many vehicles use radar as standard ADAS equipment to track other vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists, AFEELA implements both radar and LiDAR, which uses laser pulses to sense the depth, distance, and speed of an object. Though LiDAR has only recently been suitably packaged for consumer vehicles, using both standards in parallel (alongside multiple camera angles) allows a future-state AFEELA to reach the highest levels of autonomous driving. With the hardware properly future-proofed, SHM's engineers can keep developing AFEELA's self-driving capabilities and continuously improve the vehicle's autonomous capabilities through constantly evolving over-the-air updates. As the AFEELA 1 currently sits, it is equipped with the ADAS capabilities one would expect from a next-gen battery-electric vehicle with the addition of connected car features accessible through AFEELA's driver app. The idea that your car is an extension of your identity is not a new one—America's car culture is based on that core belief. With the appropriate budget and know-how, any vehicle can be customized in any number of interesting ways, but those augmentations are very often permanent (and more often than not, ill-advised). Why bother? Like that band T-shirt dad, humans crave individuality. To make our possessions truly ours. There's no greater feeling than walking up to your car in a parking lot and being excited to slip behind the wheel (or in this case, steering yoke). But the ability to be able to tailor every aspect of a vehicular experience to one's own aesthetic at a whim through a mobile app is a novel advancement. Pairing that with next-generation safety and autonomy tech? That's a mobility revolution. Reservations for the AFEELA 1 are currently open with a $200 one-time, refundable reservation fee, and customer cars will start hitting the streets in 2026. Learn more about the future of AFEELA here.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
LG Display begins mass production of 40-inch ultra-large automotive display
LG Display has commenced mass production of what it claims to be the industry's first 40-inch Pillar to Pillar (P2P) automotive display. This move aligns with the company's efforts to expand production of premium automotive displays to drive the Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) era. Designed to provide a personalised infotainment experience for both drivers and passengers, the P2P display spans the entire width of the dashboard, covering the driver's and front passenger's seating area. The P2P display, which is an ultra-large automotive panel, enables multiple functions to be displayed simultaneously. These include a digital dashboard, navigation, climate control, entertainment, and gaming, without the need for screen transitions. This feature is intended to improve user convenience and accessibility compared to conventional automotive displays, where essential information may be obscured when switching between functions. To address driver safety concerns, the display incorporates Switchable Privacy Mode (SPM), a viewing angle control technology developed by LG Display. This allows the front passenger to watch videos or play games without distracting the driver, as the screen remains invisible from the driver's seat. In addition, the display features local dimming technology, which reduces heat generation and power consumption while enhancing energy efficiency—particularly relevant for electric vehicles. The design also minimises the need for physical buttons, allowing for a more streamlined and digital interface for vehicle control. The first vehicle set to incorporate LG Display's 40-inch P2P technology is Sony Honda Mobility's electric sedan Afeela. This model integrates Sony's IT and entertainment technologies with Honda's automotive expertise, with the ultra-large display expected to enhance AI-driven driver assistance and entertainment functions. LG Display Auto Business Group head Keuk-sang Kwon said: 'Based on our industry-leading proprietary technology, outstanding product competitiveness, and stable supply capabilities, we will continue to present innovative solutions that provide differentiated customer value in the SDV era.' "LG Display begins mass production of 40-inch ultra-large automotive display " was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
