Sony's efforts in the area of mobility - such as pursuing safety, reliability, comfort and entertainment - are being positioned as a new initiative, named "VISION-S." The first prototype vehicle to result from "VISION-S" was showcased at the Sony booth at 2020 CES in Las Vegas. This prototype incorporates Sony's imaging and sensing technologies, as well as on-board software regulated using Sony's AI, telecommunication and cloud technologies, in order to continuously update and evolve its features.

A total of 33 sensors including CMOS image sensors and ToF sensors are embedded within the vehicle, in order to detect and recognize people and objects inside and outside the car, and provide highly advanced driving support. Sony's "360 Reality Audio" provides a deep and immersive audio experience through speakers built into each seat to encapsulate passengers in sound. The front seats face a panoramic screen on which rich and diverse content can be enjoyed through an intuitive user interface. Sony will continue to combine its advanced technologies to deliver greater safety and reliability, while also striving to inspire new emotion through revolutionary in-car entertainment experiences.

Apparently the Sony Vision-S Concept car’s story isn’t over yet. Sony made a big splash at CES in January this year with its fully operational electric car, but the company made it clear that it had no intentions of turning this concept into a production vehicle. Since then, we haven’t heard a peep out of Sony about the car.

That changes today, as Sony just announced the car’s return to Tokyo, via a pretty YouTube video. Two sentences of additional information were provided: “Vision-S Prototype has arrived in Tokyo for advancing our sensing and audio technologies. The prototype vehicle is also currently under development for public road testing this fiscal year.”

The first part makes some sense. Sony said that the whole reason for building this concept was to show off its technology to automotive manufacturers. Now that Sony has its own vehicle to test new tech with, the company should take advantage. It’s the second sentence that perked our ears up. In addition to testing the technologies within the vehicle, Sony appears to be continuing development of the vehicle itself.


As a quick refresher, the Vision-S is a dual-motor EV (one motor in front and one in back) that can hit 60 mph in 4.8 seconds. It also has an independent double-wishbone suspension at all four corners. The car is serious for a concept in that it functions and does everything it needs for driving on public roads. Sony’s intentions could be far less than we’re reading into this, but public road testing is a significant step for any prototype vehicle. The company could just be attempting to prove its sensors, cameras and other bits in real-world situations, but it’s created one serious machine to do that in.

We’ll be keeping an eye on Sony for the foreseeable future to see what else it gets up to with the Vision-S. In the meantime, have a watch of the above beauty roll Sony shot to highlight the Vision-S in its new Tokyo home.

Unveiled at CES 2020, and road-tested in Austria in 2021, the Sony Vision-S looks ready for series production. And yet, the Japanese consumer electronics giant said it's not planning on leaping into the automotive industry.

"At present, we have no plans to mass-produce or sell the vehicle. With mobility expected as a major megatrend into the future, we’re exploring how Sony can contribute in a meaningful way to the era of autonomous driving," a company spokesperson told Car & Driver. Note that the statement stresses there are no current plans to build the Vision-S or something like it. It does not fully rule out moving into the EV segment in the coming years.

Sony went through the trouble of building a fully functional car, hiring Magna Steyr to fine-tune it, and registering it in Austria to put it through its paces in real-world conditions. What's the point, then? Officially, the firm simply wants to test new technologies, notably features related to autonomous driving and in-car entertainment. One possibility is that, when cars drive themselves, passengers will be able to play their favorite PlayStation games online while they're traveling thanks to an in-car 5G connection. Building a car from scratch gives Sony the ability to control what it develops without having to work around hardware and software created by another company.

We're still rather perplexed by the Vision-S (pictured). Carmakers test futuristic new features on a regular basis, yet they rarely create a completely new car for the sole purpose of evaluating what it's like to embed an armada of sensors underneath the bumper or to hardwire a gaming console into the wiring loom. Even Google, whose revenues comfortably eclipse Sony's, didn't start from scratch. It began testing its technology in a Toyota Prius.

Design fuels our doubts, too, because Sony's first car looks pretty good. It appears almost ready for production. At 192.7 inches long, it's not overly forward-thinking, and it's not a science experiment-esque sedan cobbled together with parts from various bins. It even has an independent air suspension that adjusts the ride height.

Time will tell whether Sony's ambitions are bigger than it lets on, or if the Vision-S will be remembered as the exception to the rule. In the meantime, motorists who want to drive a vehicle developed by a company better known for music players than Nürburgring records will need to wait until the long-rumored Apple car makes its debut. It's allegedly being developed by Kia, and it could land in Apple stores in the first half of the 2020s.

Japanese electronics firm Sony Group Corp (6758.T) plans to launch a company in spring 2022 to explore entering the electric vehicle market, signalling ambitions to claim a slice of role the fast-growing market for green mobility.

Announcing the new company, Sony Mobility Inc, in a news conference ahead of the CES technology trade fair in the United States, Sony's chairman and president, Kenichiro Yoshida, said the company was "exploring a commercial launch" of electric vehicles.

Shares in Sony jumped 4% in morning trade in Tokyo, outpacing a flat Nikkei index (.N225).

Sony already has advanced technology in sensors critical to autonomous driving, as well as the audio and entertainment systems that are increasingly a focus for next-generation vehicles.

The launch of Sony Mobility comes after the consumer electronics giant unveiled a prototype sport utility vehicle (SUV) now being tested on public roads.

The prototype, the VISION-S 02, uses the same electric vehicle platform as the earlier VISION-S 01 coupe that began testing on public roads in Europe from December 2020.

While most of the headlines in the tech world over the past few years had been focused on speculation about a possible Apple car, Sony used this year's Consumer Electronics Show to reveal a second EV prototype, following up on the Vision-S sedan concept from 2020. Dubbed simply the Vision-S 02, the midsize sport utility appeared remarkably production ready inside and out, and appeared on stage alongside the Vision-S sedan prototype that had been undergoing testing for the past two years.



The seven-seat SUV concept is based on the same platform as the sedan, which was developed with a number of supplier partners including Magna Steyr, Qualcomm, Nvidia, ZF, Continental, Bosch, and others. The latest concept once again showcases a number of technologies from the electronics giant, including an advanced driver-assist system equipped with LiDAR and wide dynamic range CMOS image sensors, with Sony indicating that it is currently conducting verification tests aimed at the release of a Level 2+ semi-autonomous driver-assist system. That's right: Sony is working on its own semi-autonomous system, that will be roughly analogous to the ones currently on the market.

Interior tech aimed at passenger use is also one of the main aims of this concept, with Sony demonstrating a large front panoramic screen featuring gesture and voice controls, in addition to two rear-seat screens.


"Vehicle settings, key locks, and user settings can be synchronized by linking the vehicle to the cloud using mobile communication, including 5G communication, which features low-latency, high-capacity, and high-speed capabilities," the company noted. "In addition, since updates are reflected in the vehicle via over the air (OTA), it is possible to provide security and evolve service functions and value-added offerings continuously."

Arguably the bigger piece of news at CES than the concept itself was the planned launch of Sony Mobility Inc. later this spring, via which Sony "intends to explore entry into the EV market."

Does this mean Sony plans to become an automaker in the near future?

This still appears to be up in the air, as it has been for at least the past two years, but it's worth noting that Sony has managed to create not one but two working prototypes with the help of its supplier friends, so most of the ingredients certainly appear to be there if it were to go the direct-sales route like Tesla and Polestar. It's also worth noting that Sony has been road-testing its sedan prototype since its first appearance two years ago while playing coy regarding an outright entry into the EV market.

The planned formation of Sony Mobility Inc. is another step in that direction, even if Sony has not made up its mind regarding becoming an EV maker. At the very least, at this point Sony appears to have come much further publicly than Apple in taking that step.

For just about 55 years, the city of Las Vegas has played host to the largest gathering of electronics companies known as the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Held every January since 1967, the show is a chance for tech companies to show off their latest wares to the masses.
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One of the omnipresent fixtures at the show is the Tokyo, Japan-based Sony. From the introduction of the Sony Walkman and Play Station to its emergence into the music and entertainment business, the company is certainly a household name.

To kick off this year's show, Sony's press conference included a presentation by the CEO of Sony Honda Mobility, Yasuhide Mizuno. The joint venture between Honda Motors and the electronics giant unveiled what appeared to be a follow-up to its 2021 Vision-S prototype.

The new Vision-S Concept car dubbed 'Afeela' was rolled out onto the stage against a backdrop of the new name and logo. It sounds like an odd name for a vehicle, and Mizuno San did not discuss the moniker other than to say the word 'feel' is central to the mobility experience the company wants to create.

One of the most distinctive visual aspects of the car that is immediately obvious is what the company calls the 'Media Bar,' which spans the distance between the headlights. This feature will utilize light to communicate with people around it.

Though not much was revealed about the vehicle, we did learn the Afeela will have 45 sensors and cameras mounted inside and out, enabling Level 2 driver assistance capabilities with plans to graduate to Level 3.

The Afeela will take advantage of sony's experience in entertainment and offer best-in-class entertainment inside the car. Qualcomm Snapdragon chips will power Afeela's tech, while Epic Games' Unreal Engine will handle the graphic interface duties.

"For the design, we are taking an approach that aims to set new value standards for mobility as we evolve automotive design to focus not only driving dynamics and performance, but also on software networks and interfaces," Mizuno said. "We want to think out of the box to revisit the underlying philosophy of vehicle design."

The Afeela will be built in the U.S., presumably at Honda's planned electric vehicle manufacturing hub in Ohio. The CEO did offer up some detailed news on when we might see the Afeela on the road. Pre-orders are slated to begin in the first half of 2025, with actual sales commencing before the year's end and deliveries taking place in North America in the spring of 2026.

It is not clear what role, if any, Honda dealers will have in selling the Afeela. Reports that surfaced last October indicated Sony Honda Mobility intends to sell the vehicle online