The Afeela 1 sedan attributable to begin manufacturing this yr, and a carefully associated SUV that was deliberate to observe in 2028, have been cancelled, victims of a cooling EV market within the US and Honda’s choice earlier this month to cancel three EVs it deliberate to construct in Ohio.
In a press release launched by Sony and Honda, the businesses mentioned the cancellation of the Honda 0 Saloon, 0 SUV, and Acura RSX had “essentially altered” a number of the “underlying assumptions” of Sony Honda Mobility’s enterprise mannequin, together with utilizing “sure applied sciences and property” from Honda.
Though the Afeela 1 sedan and the accompanying SUV at the moment are now not going to occur, Sony Honda Mobility — the three way partnership agency formally answerable for designing, engineering and promoting Afeela-branded EVs — isn’t lifeless, but.
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Sony and Honda say they are going to overview Sony Honda Mobility’s “enterprise path”, and plan to announce its “mid- to long-term positioning” on the “earliest potential alternative”.
Given the drop off in gross sales after the Trump administration ended the US$7500 (A$10,800) federal tax credit score for EVs in September 2025, it appears if Sony Honda Mobility is to proceed it might want to pivot in the direction of China, or abandon its EV-only philosophy.
Sony started publicly toying with the concept of changing into an automaker when it revealed the enticing Imaginative and prescient-S EV idea at CES 2020. After a number of years refining the idea, Sony fashioned a three way partnership with Honda to assist engineer and produce EVs beneath the Afeela model.
Revealed in 2025 in near-production type, the Afeela 1 was set to enter manufacturing in the course of this yr at Honda’s East Liberty plant that’s simply 13km away from the Marysville manufacturing unit earmarked to supply the now-cancelled Honda 0 Collection EVs.
The 4915mm-long sedan had a 360kW dual-motor all-wheel drive setup, and a 91kWh lithium-ion battery. It had an estimated vary of 483km primarily based on the EPA testing process, and supported DC quick charging as much as 150kW.
Pricing was to start at US$89,900 (A$129,000). For reference, the typical transaction worth within the US for a brand new automotive is round US$50,000 (A$72,000), and the bottom Lucid Air, which has related energy however 673km of vary, begins at US$70,900 (A$102,000).
At CES 2026 Afeela revealed a very polished idea that previewed an SUV, which was deliberate to enter manufacturing in 2028.
