At Sony Honda Mobility’s standalone press conference at CES 2026, the message was clear: Afeela is not chasing traditional EV bragging rights. Instead, the brand is betting on software, entertainment, and personalization to define its place in the electric future.
The spotlight remained firmly on the Afeela 1 sedan, the company’s first production model, while a surprise preview of a new electric SUV hinted at where the lineup is headed next.
Afeela 1: Less About Speed, More About Experience
The Afeela 1 sedan is scheduled to arrive in the US in late 2026, with prices starting at $89,900 and stretching past $100,000. On paper, its performance specs won’t unsettle Tesla or Lucid. Sony Honda Mobility isn’t pretending otherwise.
What this really means is that Afeela sees the car as a digital living space. The company doubled down on its belief that advanced driver assistance, autonomy development, and immersive in-car experiences will matter more to its target buyers than raw acceleration figures.
PlayStation Moves Into the Driver’s Seat
One of the biggest crowd-pleasers was confirmation that PlayStation Remote Play will be fully integrated into the Afeela 1. With a data connection and a DualSense controller, passengers can stream PS5 and PS4 games directly on the car’s wide dashboard screens.
This isn’t a gimmick aimed at showing off. Sony is positioning gaming as something that naturally fits into charging stops, autonomous driving moments, and long waits, turning downtime into entertainment time.
Personalization Through the Co-Creator Program
Sony also revealed more about the Afeela Co-Creator program, which opens the car’s digital layer to external content partners. Think custom wallpapers, instrument cluster themes, ambient lighting, dashboard apps, and even synthetic motor sounds.
The first wave includes themes inspired by Astro Bot and Gran Turismo. Music personalization also plays a key role, with artists designing sound profiles that influence everything from startup tones to motion-based audio cues.
US Manufacturing and Market Rollout
On the operations front, Sony Honda Mobility confirmed that the Afeela 1 will be built in the US at Honda’s Ohio facility, where preproduction testing is already underway. Initial deliveries will begin in California in late 2026, followed by Japan in early 2027.
To support this rollout, the company is expanding its studio-style showrooms, focusing on hands-on digital experiences rather than traditional dealerships.
A New Electric SUV, But Not Anytime Soon
The presentation closed with the reveal of the Afeela Prototype 2026, a compact electric SUV inspired by Sony’s earlier Vision-S 02 concept. Despite the name, the SUV is still firmly a future product, with a launch window set for 2028 at the earliest.
Here’s the thing: Afeela isn’t in a rush. Sony Honda Mobility appears content building a software-first EV ecosystem, even if it means arriving later than rivals. Whether buyers are willing to wait remains the real question.
