The Afeela 1 sedan due to start production this year, and a closely related SUV that was planned to follow in 2028, have been cancelled, victims of a cooling EV market in the US and Honda’s decision earlier this month to cancel three EVs it planned to build in Ohio.
In a statement released by Sony and Honda, the companies said the cancellation of the Honda 0 Saloon, 0 SUV, and Acura RSX had “fundamentally altered” some of the “underlying assumptions” of Sony Honda Mobility’s business model, including using “certain technologies and assets” from Honda.
Although the Afeela 1 sedan and the accompanying SUV are now no longer going to happen, Sony Honda Mobility — the joint venture firm officially responsible for designing, engineering and selling Afeela-branded EVs — isn’t dead, yet.
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Sony and Honda say they will review Sony Honda Mobility’s “business direction”, and plan to announce its “mid- to long-term positioning” at the “earliest possible opportunity”.
Given the drop off in sales after the Trump administration ended the US$7500 (A$10,800) federal tax credit for EVs in September 2025, it seems if Sony Honda Mobility is to continue it will need to pivot towards China, or abandon its EV-only philosophy.
Sony began publicly toying with the idea of becoming an automaker when it revealed the attractive Vision-S EV concept at CES 2020. After a few years refining the concept, Sony formed a joint venture with Honda to help engineer and produce EVs under the Afeela brand.
Revealed in 2025 in near-production form, the Afeela 1 was set to go into production in the middle of this year at Honda’s East Liberty plant that’s just 13km away from the Marysville factory earmarked to produce the now-cancelled Honda 0 Series EVs.
The 4915mm-long sedan had a 360kW dual-motor all-wheel drive setup, and a 91kWh lithium-ion battery. It had an estimated range of 483km based on the EPA testing procedure, and supported DC fast charging up to 150kW.
Pricing was to begin at US$89,900 (A$129,000). For reference, the average transaction price in the US for a new car is around US$50,000 (A$72,000), and the base Lucid Air, which has similar power but 673km of range, starts at US$70,900 (A$102,000).
At CES 2026 Afeela revealed a very polished concept that previewed an SUV, which was planned to go into production in 2028.