The upcoming AFEELA EV, a joint effort between Sony and Honda, is now out there for viewing to the general public in Los Angeles, upfront 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 plenty of developments and a partnership with Honda, Sony is now promising that the car might be out there subsequent yr – in California, at the very least. It lately began taking $200 reservations, although these are restricted to California solely in the interim.
Prematurely of this launch, Sony Honda Mobility (SHM) is now displaying the automobile to the general public, in what has turn out to be a preferred methodology for EV makers (ever since Tesla and George Blankenship pioneered it): opening a mall retailer.
That retailer is true within the coronary heart of the place the AFEELA EV may be the preferred – Century Metropolis, a neighborhood of Los Angeles with an extended 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 automobile’s inside and applied sciences (however no check drives but, although).
We beforehand had an opportunity to get fingers on with the AFEELA prototype on the identical mall, although that was at a short lived sales space fairly than a devoted retailer area. It was filled with fairly a number of neat options, however there was nonetheless plenty of work to be carried out.
As a reminder, SHM lately introduced a $90k base worth for the AFEELA, although left the door open for added subscription charges for some options after an preliminary 3-year interval. The primary out there trim degree, the AFEELA 1 Signature, will begin at $103k.
So, should you’d prefer to test it out for your self and are in Southern California, you may head on over any time, or e-book a time slot upfront 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 of pie-in-the-sky initially after they introduced the idea, yearly they’ve refined it and have principally evaded making unrealistic guarantees or loopy timelines, not like another EV startups on the market.
That’s, till final yr, after they joined the AI buzzword bandwagon, which appeared like a complete waste of time. Plus, the current announcement suggesting long-term subscription charges for function use was not nice to listen to – however that hasn’t been finalized but, so we’ll should see precisely the place issues go from right here.
There does nonetheless appear to be plenty of work to do over the course of the subsequent yr 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 companion 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 identified 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.
Cost your electrical car at residence utilizing rooftop photo voltaic panels. Discover a dependable and competitively priced photo voltaic installer close to you on EnergySage, without cost. They’ve pre-vetted installers competing for your small business, making certain high-quality options and 20-30% financial savings. It’s free, with no gross sales calls till you select an installer. Examine personalised photo voltaic quotes on-line and obtain steerage from unbiased Vitality Advisers. Get began right here. – advert*
FTC: We use earnings incomes auto affiliate hyperlinks. Extra.
