Sony and Honda plan: announced earlier this week that they will team up to make an electric car company in an effort to compete with Tesla, the new car manufacturer that’s been making waves in the tech industry lately. The two companies will invest $27 billion in developing and selling their own cars over the next five years, and they hope to have 100,000 cars on the road by 2020. And that’s just the beginning, with plans to double sales over the next four years if things go well.
Sony and Honda announce plans
Today at an event in Tokyo, Sony Corporation and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. announced plans to establish a joint venture that will leverage their leadership in electronics and automobile technologies, respectively, as well as their complementary product strengths. The joint venture will be called SGA (Sony-Honda Automotive), with operations initially focused on developing integrated battery electric vehicle systems; Sony hopes that its technological strength will help SGA develop vehicles with competitive performance. SGA will also provide opportunities for synergies between products manufactured by both companies under their respective brand names; details are yet to be released.
Plans for the New Company
The new venture will have an initial capitalization of 10 billion yen ($85 million), Sony said. It will focus on developing software for self-driving cars, which would allow automatic parking or vehicle navigation. [Source: By Norihiko Shirouzu And Yuki Hagiwara, The Wall Street Journal , December 16, 2015] Honda plans to acquire 21 percent of Sony’s mobility business that develops camera sensors, parts and services for smartphones, as well as 5 percent of its entertainment unit that produces PlayStation video games. [Ibid] The two companies also are looking at jointly developing environmentally friendly transportation with technology from both companies, according to executives at both companies. [Ibid] Mr.
What’s happening with Tesla?
There’s a good chance that you’ve heard of Tesla. The company has made quite a name for itself by claiming its upcoming Model 3 is going to be the world’s first mass-market electric vehicle. But what do we really know about it? How does it stack up against other luxury EVs like BMW or Cadillac? We don’t have all those answers yet, but hopefully that’ll change as more information comes out. Meanwhile, click through for some of our favorite features, specs, and tidbits so far.
Who Will Win The Electric Car Race?
The electric car race is heating up. Earlier today, reports surfaced that Sony and Honda plan to form a new joint venture aimed at developing electric vehicles. The companies will build two next-generation EVs on their own platforms before working together on an even more advanced EV. We can’t predict how good these vehicles will be (or what they’ll cost) or which one will win out in consumer’s minds, but one thing is for sure: it’s going to be exciting.
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