Sony and Honda’s new Afeela electric car to start at $89,900, but only for buyers in California

Sony and Honda have teamed up to build a new electric vehicle (EV) called the ‘Afeela,’ opening it for pre-orders at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on January 7, 2025.

The car, which has been in development for the last five years, will will initially go on sale only in California, according to a report by The Verge.

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The Afeela will come in two trims; The Afeela 1 Origin, costing $89,900 and the Afeela 1 Signature, costing $102,900, revealed Sony Honda Mobility, the company formed as a result of the joint venture.

Both of these trim levels will also include a complimentary three-year subscription to a variety of in-car features, which includes the company’s Level 2+ driver assist as well as an AI-powered personal assistant.

It gets up to 300 miles of EPA-estimated range, as well as built-in support for Tesla’s Supercharger network.

At the moment, the Afeela only appears to be available in “Core Black,” and customers can anticipate a faster delivery for the more expensive Signature trim which will start from 2026, while the lesser expensive Origin would require a wait till 2027.

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The EV also boasts screens across the width of its dashboard, 40 sensors and cameras which allow for semi-autonomous driving assistance, all-wheel drive, and also possibly hints at augmented reality integration and “virtual worlds” embedded into the driving experience.

What’s more special is that Sony Honda Mobility CEO Yasuhide Mizuno summoned the vehicle onstage by saying the voice command “Come on out, Afeela” into his phone.

However, he had also said it was a “tech demo for this showcase,” so it’s unclear if voice commands will become a production feature.

The Afeela is a result of Sony’s Vision concept introduced first in 2020.

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Since then, EV demand has spiked, flatlined, and stabilised, China became a dominant EV producer prompting Honda to merge with Nissan to better compete, and in the US, the Biden administration introduced generous incentives for EV buyers which are likely to get eliminated by the incoming Trump administration, according to the report.

Sony Honda Mobility will also be announcing the details on shopping for and owning an Afeela tomorrow.

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