The joint automotive venture between Sony and Honda, Sony Honda Mobility (SHM), has been teased, discussed, and shown at CES since 2020, and now the vehicle, branded the AFEELA 1, is closer than ever to being released in the wild.
There is now a website — shm-afeela.com — where you can drop a $200 deposit to pre-order one of the two models: either the base trim AFEELA 1 Origin, which will be offered in a black-on-black finish and start at $89,900, and will be available sometime in 2027; or the premium AFEELA 1 Signature model that will start at $102,900 and be offered in three colors, and will be available for California customers sometime in late-2026.
At CES 2026, Sony and Honda are going all-in on their vehicle messaging, with the AFEELA name getting marquee billing over both Sony and Honda. At a press event held at the booth, SHM president and chief operating officer Izumi Kawanishi took the stage to exclaim that they are excited about the future of mobility, and in the three years since SHM was established, the automotive industry has seen diverse innovation and growth and is evolving into an interactive experience.
Kawanishi claims AFEELA is built on a vision to redefine the relationship between people and mobility, and “being in a car will no longer be about driving,” instead making the most of your time and space while you move. “Cars will understand the passenger’s preferences and feelings,” Kawanishi said, and “the relationship will become an interactive dialogue.”
To accomplish this, SHM is developing Vehicle AI that will deliver user experiences and two-way communication that will go beyond traditional vehicle OS and “create experiences that foster a truly symbiotic relationship with the driver.”
AFEELA’s conversational agent will be powered by Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Digital Chassis. SHM has had a strategic partnership with Qualcomm since the beginning, and the companies share a vision to redefine mobility, creating smarter, safer, and more engaging journeys.
Qualcomm executive VP and group VP of automotive, Nakul Duggal, said that next generation Snapdragon Digital Chassis will include Generative AI to deeply personalize intuitive in-cabin experiences and seamless interaction across devices, with cloud-connected architecture to ensure safety, security, and enhancement, ultimately making vehicles smarter, safer, and more intuitive.
“AFEELA represents a bold step forward in redefining mobility,” Duggal stated, “and we’re thrilled that Snapdragon Digital Chassis is at the core of AFEELA.”
As you would expect from Sony, in-cabin entertainment is vital to the experience, and AFEELA will deliver movies, music, gaming, and more. Kawanishi said that passengers will be able to enjoy entertainment on the panoramic screen and rear entertainment system, as well as customizable themes and uniquely visualized 3D maps, transforming the experience of mobility into a richer time.
Further, AFEELA will take PlayStation Remote Play to the next level, being the first vehicle to offer Remote Play and letting players bring their PlayStation experience on the road to AFEELA’s entertainment system. SHM is also integrating franchising into experience, and popular gaming titles like Gran Turismo, Astrobot, and others will have interactive themes that can be incorporated into AFEELA’s dashboard.
To produce a sound experience for AFEELA, SMH turned to Tomoko Ida, one of the most sought-after female music producers in Japan, who created a sound that makes the act of moving and the sonic experience more enjoyable. Ida commented, “For the E-motor sound, I was inspired by the idea of blending Japanese and Western styles,” and she hopes “people can feel the quiet but powerful energy in the sound.”
In 2025, SMH welcomed over 100,000 visitors and conducted more than 25,000 in-cabin demonstrations, receiving very positive customer feedback about the brand, design, and features of AFEELA. Only 22% of interested customers already own an EV, meaning that AFEELA will be the first step for the majority in owning an EV. There are currently four AFEELA studios, all located in California, but they are looking to expand into Arizona in 2027.
Finally, Yashuhide Mizuno, representative director, chairperson, and CEO of SMH, appeared to announce that the company is steadily advancing development and manufacturing in the United States, and trial production has already started at Honda’s Ohio plant. For the Japanese market, SMH is planning to begin deliveries in the first half of 2027.
Mizuno said that AFEELA is not limited to a single model type and revealed that they have already started working on our next concept, which they revealed to be the AFEELA Prototype 2026, a more SUV-styled vehicle, which will expand the design shape to meet needs while staying true to AFEELA. Mizuno added that SMH aims to deliver a new model based on this prototype as early as 2028.
For more information, visit shm-afeela.com.
