Tokyo When Sony unveiled a prototype for an electric car at CES in Las Vegas in 2020, some industry observers still spoke of a PR stunt. But the Japanese are serious and are actually planning to enter the car industry. On Friday, the electronics group signed a letter of intent with the Japanese car manufacturer Honda. In a joint venture, the Japanese want to jointly develop and produce a new electric model.
If everything goes according to plan, the duo’s first electric car should be on the market in 2025. In this case, Honda would contribute its know-how in development and production as well as in service. Sony delivers its technological know-how – from sensors to telecommunications to networking and entertainment technologies.
The deal is already being celebrated in Japan: “This is the most important news of the century for the future of the domestic industry,” commented auto analyst Takaki Nakanishi on the new alliance. For him, the federal government symbolizes the end of the confrontation between automobile manufacturers and IT companies. The cooperation makes it possible to combine the strengths of both industries, the analyst wrote.
Sony is suddenly in a pioneering role. Because the Japanese would be the first major electronics manufacturer to dare the expensive entry into the car industry. Even the US giant Apple, which has been said to be very interested in getting involved for years, has so far shied away from the move because of the high costs and low profit margins. Other newcomers to the industry, such as the British Dyson Group, have long since discontinued their car projects.
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By partnering with Honda, Sony is trying to reduce the high costs and long lead times involved in developing and producing a car. Sony boss Kenichiro Yoshida is thus implementing what he promised at the beginning of the year: Sony is choosing an asset-light strategy for its own offensive.
Sony boss Kenichiro Yoshida and Honda boss Toshihiro Mibe want to work together on a new electric car.
(Photo: AP)
This means that the group, in contrast to the electric car pioneer Tesla, will not invest heavily in its own plants, but wants to use the infrastructure of a partner. Car analyst Takaki is particularly pleased that the Korean manufacturers and top dog Toyota got nothing from this “handshake between IT and cars”.
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“The new company wants to be at the forefront of innovation, evolution and expansion of mobility around the world,” promises Honda boss Toshihiro Mibe. The duo have set themselves the goal of exceeding customer expectations and ideas.
Sony promises a new driving experience
Sony boss Kenichiro Yoshida emphasizes that both are less about form and horsepower. With the technology, the electronics manufacturer wanted to “turn the space of mobility into an emotional space,” says Yoshida.
However, it is still unclear how exactly Sony wants to redefine the driving experience. Instead, Yoshida only provided keywords for the new approach: the new car should be safe, entertaining and adaptable.
The Japanese are already selling image and lidar sensors for driving assistants to traditional manufacturers. In addition, the company has many years of experience in smartphones, cloud services, video games, televisions, smartphones, network technology, entertainment offerings from its music and film studios and the development of robots, artificial intelligence and chip technologies.
The competition in the car market is fierce and the number of companies that act purely as production and development partners is growing steadily. The Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn, which also builds smartphones for Apple, or the Austrian supplier Magna Steyr offer brands that want to enter the car market as production partners.
Sony, on the other hand, now relies on an established manufacturer. However, the biggest challenge is still ahead for Sony boss Yoshida: He has to prove to his investors that the new division will generate enough profit and not ultimately burden the margin.
Because Sony is currently generating a profit margin of more than ten percent – about twice as much as the new partner Honda. Among Japanese automakers, only arch-rival Toyota was able to report a double-digit profit margin in the fiscal year that ended at the end of March.
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