- SHM begins pre-production of the Afeela 1, its first vehicle scheduled to debut around mid-year.
- Although the company has been largely quiet over the past year, it says it remains on track with its production plans.
- The Afeela 1 still doesn’t look very attractive compared to its more powerful and faster-charging competitors.
The Afeela has remained pretty quiet throughout most of 2025, but the Sony-Honda Mobility (SHM) joint venture is still on track to launch its first car later this year. The company recently announced that it has begun trial production operations for Afila 1 At Honda’s East Liberty Motor Plant in Ohio, ensuring the vehicle meets quality standards.
There is still no official start date for production or delivery, but Susan Dolek, SHM’s head of product quality, said, “We will ensure that all integrated functions installed in the vehicle are fully functional as designed to deliver the experience promised by AFEELA. We will not only deliver the technology, but we will also deliver the highest levels of reliability. This is our commitment to our customers.”
But even if SHM gets the execution quality right, the Afeela 1 will enter a crowded market segment where there are plenty of midsize electric sedans. It cost more than $90,000 To choose from it is wading into the market with fairly modest specifications.
It will have a standard dual-motor setup with roughly 400 horsepower, up to 150 kilowatts of DC fast charging via a Tesla-style NACS plug, and offer a range of about 300 miles from its 91 kilowatt-hour battery. There are cars that cost the same or less that outperform it across the board, so this is clearly not what SHM hopes will attract buyers.
Although its design is somewhat generic, it promises to be a completely unique offering that blends Honda’s automotive expertise with Sony’s entertainment experience and technology focus. It will be packed with comfort, convenience and entertainment kit that SHM hopes will make buyers ignore its specs.
Safety is one area where SHM expects the Afeela 1 to lead the pack. It will contain an array of 40 sensors, including 18 cameras, one lidar unit, nine radars, and 12 ultrasonic sensors. This promises to give a clear picture of the vehicle’s surroundings at all times, and is all the hardware a car needs for Level 3 automated driving. It won’t be able to reach Level 3 at launch, but SHM plans to roll that out in the future.
That’s more than most cars sold in the US today, and SHM is hoping that excellent safety and a built-in PlayStation 5 will be enough to make it popular. Afeela 1 is certainly one of the most interesting releases of 2026, however We’re not sure it has enough to guarantee success. Maybe the manufacturer knows something we don’t, but at the moment it doesn’t look very convincing.
