sony and honda release AFEELA 1, an electric car with plant-based materials in the cabin

sony and honda release AFEELA 1, an electric car with plant-based materials in the cabin

AFEELA 1 by sony honda mobility at CES 2025

 

Sony and Honda introduce their electric car AFEELA 1 at CES 2025, a production model with plant-based materials in the cabin. First unveiled at CES 2024 as a concept car, the Sony Honda Mobility, which is a joint venture between Sony Group Corporation and Honda Motor Company, brings out the vehicle at the trade event. Running between January 7th and 10th, visitors to the Las Vegas event can see that the plant-derived and recycled materials make up around 70 percent of the vehicle’s interior surface area. These range from seats, doors, the dashboard, and glove box to roofs, pillars, and piece mats. 

 

The suede comes from sugarcane molasses, while the artificial leather used is a mix of corn cob waste and sugarcane molasses too. The design team partially makes the lining of the artificial leather from chemical-recycled polyester yarn, sourced from recovered textile products. It is also this polyester yarn that they use for the textiles around the cabin, which results in them having deodorizing properties that can remove the odor in the cabin on their own. Even the pile carpets can cleanse the smell of the air because of the same yarn material, but their bases come from restored waste materials such as fishing nets, thread waste, and old carpets.

sony honda CES 2025
all images courtesy of Sony Honda Mobility

 

 

Pearl paint with scratch-resistant clear coat for exterior

 

For the exterior of AFEELA 1, Sony Honda Mobility polishes the base first before applying the pearl paint. This allows for the radar transmission to work through the bumper. The design team finishes the coating with a scratch-resistant clear shade. The process results in a glossy exterior, a complementary property to the sleek, hard, and tense surfaces and lines. Technology-wise, the Sony Honda electric car at CES 2025 comes with numerous cameras in and out.

 

There are 18 cameras, 1 LiDAR, 9 radars, 12 ultrasonics, and up to 40 sensors on board. These help the vehicle monitor the surroundings on all sides and detect and flash them as 3D and HQ images on the dashboard display for the driver to see. The design team also installs the dubbed ‘Driver Monitoring Camera’. It alerts the driver when it sees signs of drowsiness or physical discomfort for them so they can immediately act on them and avoid accidents.

sony honda CES 2025
Sony Honda Mobility introduces its electric car AFEELA 1 at CES 2025

 

 

Intelligent AI system can park the vehicle on its own

 

AI plays a major role in making the electric car AFEELA 1 work. Sony Honda Mobility shares at the CES 2025 conference that they utilize AI for parking assist and intelligent personal assistant, to name a few. Basically, the car can park itself as soon as it finishes gauging the available spaces. With Qualcomm Technologies, the design team installs the Snapdragon Ride chip, allowing the vehicle to deliver level 2 or 2+ driving assistance.  More technologies are on board, including the 3D Motion Management System. 

 

This integrates control of the motor, brakes, and suspension so the driving is comfortable and the car is able to handle different road surfaces with fewer vibrations and less noise. Every user has their own display, so there are two screens for the back passengers attached at the back of the driver and front passenger’s seats. So far, the exterior colors are available in three options: Tidal Gray, Calm White, and Core Black.  After CES 2025, Sony Honda Mobility gears up to produce AFEELA 1 in Ohio, USA, with the expected delivery timeline around mid-2026.

sony honda CES 2025
for the exterior of AFEELA 1, Sony Honda Mobility polishes the base first before applying the pearl paint

sony honda CES 2025
the design team finishes the coating with a scratch-resistant clear shade

sony honda CES 2025
view of the AFEELA 1 trunk space

sony honda CES 2025
charging port of AFEELA 1

sony-honda-afeela-1-ces-2025-designboom-ban

there’s a media bar that flashes greetings at the front bumper

inside AFEELA 1
inside AFEELA 1

every user has their own display, so there are two screens for the back passengers
every user has their own display, so there are two screens for the back passengers

the artificial leather is a mix of corn cob waste and sugarcane molasses
the artificial leather is a mix of corn cob waste and sugarcane molasses

sony-honda-mobility-AFEELA-1-electric-car-CES-2025-designboom-ban2

while the car is unveiled at CES 2025, the deliver is is mid-2026

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