Sony, Honda Sign JV to sell electric cars by the year 2025
Both the companies officially agreed to an equally owned joint venture on with each company investing 5 billion yen into the operation.
Japan’s Sony and Honda Motor have officially agreed to an equally owned joint venture that will start selling electric cars in 2025.
Honda, like bigger rival Toyota Motor, took time to shift to electric vehicles (EV) than global automakers and is under pressure from investors to make cars that are carbon-free and equipped with newer technology such as self-driving features.
Honda, which only offers one EV, has said that it plans to roll out 30 EV models and make some 2 million EVs annually by 2030.
To the JV, first announced in March and named Sony Honda Mobility, Honda will bring its expertise in building and selling cars and Sony will add its software and technology chops, the companies said in a statement.
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Each company will invest 5 billion yen ($37.52 million) in the JV.
Yasuhide Mizuno, a senior Honda executive, will be the JV’s chairman and CEO, and Izumi Kawanishi, an executive vice president at Sony, will be the president and chief operating officer.
Honda, the maker of popular models like Accord and Civic, is dealing with crimped margins as costs of raw materials have surged and a global chip crunch hurts production.
The company said earlier this year that it would develop a series of lower-priced EVs with General Motors, based on a new joint platform, expanding on plans for GM to begin building two electric SUVs for Honda starting in 2024.