Sony and Honda kill the Afeela EV program before a single car reaches a buyer
The Sony-Honda Mobility joint venture has cancelled both planned Afeela electric vehicles, scrapping a project that had already entered pre-production in Ohio and was months from its first customer deliveries.
Rob Leigh
Sony and Honda have pulled the plug on the Afeela electric car program. Both the Afeela 1 sedan and a planned second model are dead, following Honda's broader decision to abandon its 0 Series EV lineup earlier this month.
The joint venture, known as Sony Honda Mobility (SHM), says Honda's cancelled 0 Series platform was central to the Afeela program. Without it, there's no viable path forward.
"SHM has determined that it does not have a viable path forward to bring the models to market as originally planned," the company said in a statement.
The timing stings. The Afeela 1 had entered pre-production at Honda's East Liberty plant in Ohio in August 2025 and was on track for late 2026 deliveries in California. Pricing had been confirmed, reservation deposits had been taken, and a second model had been shown at CES 2026.
Planned Afeela 1 pricing (now cancelled):
- Afeela 1 Signature: USD$102,900
- Afeela 1 Origin: USD$89,900 (2027 target)
Honda's reversal cites a brutal EV market, particularly pressure from Chinese manufacturers and weakening demand in the US and Asia. Honda said it was unable to deliver "value for money better than that of newer EV manufacturers."
Honda is now wearing up to USD$15.8 billion in losses across the cancelled 0 SUV, 0 Sedan and Acura RSX programs. The Afeela cancellations add further damage.
SHM says it will refund all reservation deposits from California customers, and both Sony and Honda will continue to discuss the joint venture's future direction. What that looks like in practice is anyone's guess.
The Afeela 1 had genuine tech ambitions. It used 40 sensors for Level 3 autonomous driving, integrated Sony's gaming and audio systems into a full-width digital dash, and was built around an AI-powered personal assistant. None of that will reach production.
Australian relevance: The Afeela 1 was never confirmed for Australia so local buyers lose nothing directly. But Honda's wider EV retreat will shape what the brand brings here in coming years.
For buyers waiting on something genuinely new from Honda or a Sony-branded EV, it's back to square one.
