Sony Group and Honda Motor have signed a joint venture agreement to establish a new company to sell “high-value-added” electric vehicles and provide services for mobility, subject to regulatory approval.
Sony and Honda plan to establish the company this year with the aim of selling EVs and providing mobility services in 2025.
Kenichiro Yoshida, President and CEO at Sony Group Corporation, said based on Sony’s vision to “make the mobility space an emotional one”, the company’s initiatives centred on safety, entertainment, and adaptability.
“As we continue our learnings in these areas, we are excited to have met a partner, Honda, with extensive global achievements and knowledge, and to sign the joint venture agreement between the two companies. Going forward, we aim to contribute to the evolution of mobility by combining Honda’s cutting-edge environmental and safety technologies, mobility development capabilities, vehicle body manufacturing technology and after-sales service management experience, with our expertise in imaging, sensing, telecommunication, network and entertainment technologies,” he said.
Toshihiro Mibe, President and CEO of Honda, said the company continues to accept new challenges in environmental, safety, and other “advanced” fields to be a driving force for social change through mobility.
“We are very pleased to have signed a joint venture agreement with Sony, which has strengths in advanced digital technology and shares our desire to take on new challenges. Since its announcement in March, many people have expressed their expectations for this joint venture. At the new company, we will strive to create new value through the fusion brought about by the combination of our different industries, so please look forward to future developments,” he added.
Yasuhide Mizuno, Senior Managing Officer at Honda, will become the joint venture’s CEO. He said the agreement represents the “start line from which we embark on the major challenge of revolutionising mobility and creating new value”.