Sony and Honda announce partnership to build electric cars

Tokyo – Japanese electronics and entertainment giant Sony announce On Friday, it will team up with Honda to develop electric cars for sale as early as 2025, becoming the latest company to roll its hat in the booming battery-powered market.

Demand for electric vehicles is minimal but rising dramatically as concerns about climate change and tighter emissions regulations push consumers into the market. But Japanese companies have lagged behind their rivals in developing cars and are now seeking to make up for lost ground to fast-rising automakers like Tesla and traditional rivals like Tesla. GMwhich has pledged to go fully electrified by 2035.

Sony, a leader in digital sensors and imaging technology, has announced its ambition to enter the automotive market January At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, it unveiled a prototype SUV that would allow passengers to play video games designed for the PlayStation 5 console.

But instead of designing its own cars, the company chose to collaborate with a traditional automaker, in an effort to avoid the pitfalls faced by other tech companies that tried to build their own cars from scratch. Sony and Honda said in their announcement that they plan to form a new company this year to manufacture cars at Honda plants.

The agreement is expected to give Sony access to Honda’s industry know-how as well as its global network of dealers and aftermarket service providers. Honda will have access to core technology to implement features such as self-driving, and also to a wealth of Sony’s entertainment options.

This will be crucial as companies seek to compete against more well-known electric car manufacturers, as well as powerful technology companies, such as Apple, that want to focus on electric cars.

Honda earlier announced its plans to manufacture a variety of other electric vehicles, including at least two that are being made under a partnership with General Motors for the US market.