Sony Honda Mobility, the joint venture born from the union between electronics giant Sony and Japanese automaker Honda, announced Wednesday the discontinuation of its Afeela electric vehicle development. The decision is a direct consequence of Honda’s downsizing of its objectives in the electric vehicle sector: the Japanese company has indeed recently recorded a massive write-down of up to 2,500 billion yen, approximately 15.7 billion dollars, which led to its first annual loss in nearly 70 years of stock market history.
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Sony-Honda halts Afeela project
Without the technical and productive contribution that Honda was supposed to provide, Sony Honda Mobility deemed it impossible to continue on the path that would have brought Afeela to market. The EV withdrawal fits into a broader global context of uncertainty for electric vehicles. In the USA, for example, state support for the sector has been reduced under Donald Trump’s presidency, while in the EU demand has so far been lower than expected, forcing large groups like Ford and Stellantis to similar write-downs.
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Development halted, customers refunded
Sony Honda Mobility has assured that it will proceed with the full refund of California customers who had reserved the Afeela 1, the model that was supposed to start deliveries scheduled for the end of the year with prices starting from 89,900 dollars. The joint venture also stated that it will continue dialogue with Sony and Honda to evaluate next steps, although the parties have communicated that they do not expect a significant impact on their respective overall financial situations.
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