Sony and Honda Establishes “Mobility Tech Company” Sony Honda Mobility to move people through the pursuit of innovation with diverse inspirations.
Oct 13, 2022 – Sony Honda Mobility Inc. (SHM) today held a press conference in which its Representative
Director, Chairman and CEO Yasuhide Mizuno and Representative Director, President and COO
Izumi Kawanishi announced the company’s establishment.
A summary of the press conference is as follows:
- SHM aims to become a software-oriented “Mobility Tech Company” by providing high value-added products and services, and by building new relations with customers.
- The company’s purpose is to “Move people, through the pursuit of innovation with diverse inspirations.
- Pre-orders for the first product are planned to begin in the first half of 2025, with sales to commence before the end of 2025. Delivery is planned to start in the United States in Spring 2026, followed by Japan in the second half of 2026.
- The new company’s high value-added EV concept is defined as the 3Aʼ s for Autonomy, Augmentation, and Affinity. Cutting-edge technologies will be applied to realize the 3Aʼs.
- SHM will design a comprehensive service architecture that incorporates an integrated service framework, consistent throughout from in-vehicle software to cloud-based software.
Background
- Sony Group Corporation (Sony) and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda) signed a memorandum of understanding for strategic alliance in mobility field on March 4, 2022. On June 16, the companies signed a joint venture agreement to establish Sony Honda Mobility Inc.
- The companies agreed to lead innovation in the mobility industry through joint development and sales of high value-added electric vehicles (EVs) and creating a business to provide mobility services.
Company direction and purpose
- SHM strives to become a “Mobility Tech Company” that provides high value-added products and services, and strives to create new relations with its customers, by adopting new ideas through new software-oriented technologies and actively building partnerships with other companies.
- Not only will SHM integrate the knowledge Sony and Honda hold, but will actively cultivate various opportunities that encourage customers, partners and creative communities who resonate with us to join in.
- SHM’s purpose is to “Move people, through the pursuit of innovation with diverse inspirations.
- The company aims to develop cutting-edge technologies to appeal to people’s emotions and behaviors, realizing revolutionary mobility to move people and their emotions.
Connecting with customers / Product launch plans
- SHM will provide a new service beyond product sales and after-sales service, integrating digital and physical services to form deep and continuous relationships with customers across the entire value-chain.
- The company aims to build a community of customers resonating with our brand, even for those who do not own our products, and collaborate with a wide range of industry-leading partners to create new experience value.
- For sales, SHM plans to focus on online sales, creating a direct and persistent network with customers, also inviting them to take part in the product development process. The company will provide personalized post-sales customer experience as well.
- Pre-orders for the first product are planned to begin in the first half of 2025, with sales to commence before the end of 2025. Delivery is planned to start in the United States in Spring 2026, followed by Japan in the second half of 2026.
- SHM plans to manufacture its first product at Honda’s North America factory.
Direction and technological approach to mobility and services
Based on a common principle both Sony and Honda hold, to contribute to and lead the evolution of mobility, SHM has defined its high value-added EV concept as the 3Aʼ s for Autonomy, Augmentation, and Affinity.
Autonomy
- SHM will provide pleasant mobility space founded on safe and secure technologies.
- SHM aims to develop Level 3 automated drive under limited conditions and to enable Level 2+ driver assistance in even more situations such as urban driving.
- Planned hardware includes high-performance SoC1 with total processing power exceeding 800 TOPS2.
Augmentation
- A new HMI*3 will be introduced, providing a personalized in-car experience through cloud-service connectivity, realizing entertainment beyond driving.
- SHM aims to evolve mobility space into entertainment and emotional space, by seamlessly integrating real and virtual worlds, and exploring new entertainment possibilities through digital innovations such as the metaverse.
- High-performance integrated ECUs including two latest-generation SoCs for HMI/IVI4 system combined with AD/ADAS5 ECU*6 are planned to replace conventional ECUs.
Affinity
- SHM will build an open community for not only customers, but our automotive industry partners, leading players in other industries, and the creative community which will take on the challenge with us to create new mobility entertainment.
- Aiming to realize an interactive mobility society and create new entertainment experience, SHM will design a comprehensive service architecture that positions mobility as a mobility experience service, incorporating an integrated service framework that is consistent throughout from in-vehicle software to cloud-based software.
Company overview
- Company name: Sony Honda Mobility Inc.
- Location: Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Capital: 10 billion yen
- Investment ratio: Sony Group Corporation 50%, Honda Motor Co., Ltd. 50%
- Members of the board: Yasuhide Mizuno, Representative Director, Chairman and CEO Izumi Kawanishi, Representative Director, President, and COO Shugo Yamaguchi, Director and Deputy President Kojiro Okabe, Director, and Executive Vice President Manabu Ozawa, Director (Honda Motor Co., Ltd.), Naoya Horii, Director (Sony Group Corporation).
- Website: https://www.sony-honda-mobility.com/en/