Sony Honda Mobility unveiled its AFEELA 1 EV at the Consumer Electronics Show, finally giving a (nearly) full reveal of the vehicle expected to go on sale in California in 2026.
Sony has been teasing us with an EV project for years now, starting back in 2020 with a surprise reveal at its CES keynote. At the time, it was called the VISION-S project and we thought there was no way it would happen… but then Sony partnered with Honda, and the car got the name “AFEELA” in 2023, and a 2026 release date.
Today Sony gave us another annual update of its AFEELA car, although it is less focused on it than before. The almost 6-minute part of its CES keynote dedicated to the car didn't tell us much new information compared to previous years, but it did give us perhaps the most important information yet: pricing and availability.
The big news today is that the car will be called the AFEELA 1, and reservations are now open for $200 a pop, with a base price of $89,900 for the “Origin” trim, and $102,900 for the “Signature” trim.
Sony didn't tell us much about the differences between these resolutions, but there is a short rundown available on the AFEELA website. An extra $13k for the Signature trim gets you more color choices, rear screens (which you can see in our hands-on example car), a rearview camera mirror, and bigger wheels.
But, perhaps more importantly, it also gets you the car last year, “mid-2026,” while the Origin series is only available in 2027 (surprisingly, the original cars will not be the origin decide).
But we may learn more later, as it also helps to say “features may vary.” This is not a complete sheet, so we expect to learn more as time goes on.
In previous keynotes, Sony revealed its expertise in software and entertainment and said that it will help them to make a car that better integrates car software to provide passenger entertainment and driver guidance with “AFEELA the personal agent” and electronic driving aids (and. 45 sensors of potential autonomous driving jobs).
One of tonight's demos included Sony Honda Mobility CEO Yasuhide Mizuno demonstrating the features of Sony's “personal agent” by talking to the car on his phone, after which the car exited the stage, and later exited the same way. Last year, Sony drove a car on stage with a PS5 controller. Sony has not promised that this will be a production feature, merely referring to it as a technical demo.
Sony also specified that its “personal agent” and autonomous drive features will be subscription-based, with a 3-year “consent subscription” included with the car, but no word on how much it will cost after that. Sony said this “may change” – and given the negative public reaction some car subscriptions have received, we think there's a good chance that change is coming.
But there is another catch from today's presentation: so far, reservations are only open in California.
This is something many companies have done before, because California is a state with a lot of EVs – and strict emissions regulations.
Those stricter emissions laws require more EV sales than most other states, so companies often choose to sell EVs in California to help reduce emissions from their other, more polluting gas vehicles. This led to the phrase “compliant vehicle,” which refers to complying with California's EV laws, to describe vehicles that are more focused on meeting regulations rather than a 50-state effort by the automaker.
While the Sony doesn't have an offset release, the Honda does. Honda recently started selling EVs in the US with the Prologue, which sells well in many states, not just California.
So, it's strange that one of these companies would focus only on California, as it doesn't seem like any of them have to worry about compliance. We've reached out to find out what the timeline will be in other states, and we'll let you know if we find out anything new.
AFEELA 1 reservations are $200 and fully refundable, and can be made on the AFEELA website now – if you're in California.
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