Sony, Honda Stop Developing and Launching 'Apila' For Electric Vehicle Joint Project

*This content was translated by AI.

Sony and Honda's electric vehicle joint project, which had been expected to be a new milestone in the Japanese automobile industry, finally ran aground. Sony and Honda Mobility (SHM), a joint venture between the two companies, announced in an official statement on the 25th that it would completely stop developing and selling the first mass-produced model, AFELA 1, and subsequent models that were being developed after 2028.

The decision is in line with Honda's recently announced restructuring of its company-wide electric vehicle strategy. Honda said on March 12 that it would cancel the development of three models of its own EV lineup, "Zero Series," and review its global EV strategy from the ground up, citing changes in the market environment, such as reduced demand in the North American market and the abolition of incentives. Apila was scheduled to be built on Honda's new EV platform, e: Architecture, but Honda's withdrawal from providing the assets and technology has lost the momentum to continue the business independently of the joint venture.

Sony and Honda Mobility announced their ambition to create a "moving entertainment platform" by combining Sony's advanced entertainment and sensing technology with Honda's vehicle manufacturing know-how when it was established in 2022. However, it was slower to enter the market than its IT-based competitors such as Tesla and China's Xiaomi, and faced difficulties due to external negative factors such as opposition from the existing dealer network to direct sales in the U.S. market, and the Trump administration's cut in EV subsidies. In particular, Honda recorded about 2.5 trillion yen (about 22 trillion won) worth of EV-related losses within this session, raising the possibility of its first annual deficit since its foundation.

SHM plans to refund the entire reservation fee for Apila 1's advance reservation, which has already been received in California and other states. Originally, Apila 1 was scheduled to be released in Japan in 2027, starting with North America and India later this year, but the announcement effectively canceled the mass production plan. Sony and Honda plan to continue further discussions on whether the joint venture will survive and the direction of technical cooperation in the future, but the industry believes that the business has actually entered the liquidation phase.

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*This content was translated by AI.