The upcoming AFEELA EV, a joint effort between Sony and Honda, is now out there for viewing to the general public in Los Angeles, prematurely of its scheduled California launch in 2026.
We first heard about Sony’s upcoming EV again at CES 2020, the place the corporate introduced a shock EV idea which, frankly, we by no means thought would occur.
Quick ahead to now, and after a number of developments and a partnership with Honda, Sony is now promising that the car might be out there subsequent 12 months – in California, at the least. It not too long ago began taking $200 reservations, although these are restricted to California solely in the interim.
Upfront of this launch, Sony Honda Mobility (SHM) is now displaying the automotive to the general public, in what has turn into a well-liked methodology for EV makers (ever since Tesla and George Blankenship pioneered it): opening a mall retailer.
That retailer is correct within the coronary heart of the place the AFEELA EV could be the most well-liked – Century Metropolis, a neighborhood of Los Angeles with a protracted historical past of attachment to the film trade, on the Westfield Century Metropolis mall on Santa Monica Blvd.
The storefront opened to the general public this weekend, and might be open for the subsequent six months (till August 1). The general public can come round at any time and take a look on the car and ask questions, or can e-book a demo of the automotive’s inside and applied sciences (however no check drives but, although).
We beforehand had an opportunity to get arms on with the AFEELA prototype on the similar mall, although that was at a brief sales space relatively than a devoted retailer area. It was stuffed with fairly a number of neat options, however there was nonetheless a number of work to be carried out.
As a reminder, SHM not too long ago introduced a $90k base worth for the AFEELA, although left the door open for extra subscription charges for some options after an preliminary 3-year interval. The primary out there trim stage, the AFEELA 1 Signature, will begin at $103k.
So, should you’d wish to test it out for your self and are in Southern California, you’ll be able to head on over any time, or e-book a time slot prematurely for an in-car demonstration.
Electrek’s Take
I’ve been impressed with the maturity of the tempo of Sony’s bulletins with this car. Whereas it appeared a bit pie-in-the-sky initially once they introduced the idea, yearly they’ve refined it and have largely refrained from making unrealistic guarantees or loopy timelines, not like another EV startups on the market.
That’s, till final 12 months, once they joined the AI buzzword bandwagon, which appeared like a complete waste of time. Plus, the current announcement suggesting long-term subscription charges for characteristic use was not nice to listen to – however that hasn’t been finalized but, so we’ll must see precisely the place issues go from right here.
There does nonetheless appear to be a number of work to do over the course of the subsequent 12 months earlier than the AFEELA’s “mid-2026” launch, however issues do factor to be progressing at an affordable tempo
And, oddly sufficient, that is going to be one of many first Japanese EVs out there within the US. Toyota has the bZ4X (and its associate the Subaru Solterra), Nissan has the Leaf and Ariya, and Honda has the Prologue – which is made in partnership with GM. In the meantime, an organization recognized for its client leisure merchandise goes to leap into the pack with the remainder of its nation’s auto trade – by constructing a ground-up EV earlier than a few of its countrymen did so.
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