Shugo Yamaguchi Sony Honda Mobility of America (SHMA) CEO answers our questions!

On Tuesday (Feb. 3rd), I was finally able to see a production version of the Afeela 1 in Fremont, California, that came straight off the Ohio assembly line! While a full breakdown of that vehicle is right around the corner, I wanted to share some interesting information I learned after having a quick conversation with Sony Honda Mobility of America (SHMA) CEO Shugo Yamaguchi at the event I attended.

After taking some photos with Shugo, I started by asking if Honda was Sony's first choice when it came to building a vehicle. He answered with a familiar story about how Sony wanted to build an electric car for a while but never could due to production constraints, and how Honda would save the day by coming to them with an offer to build the vehicle and make sure it met challenging safety requirements.

I followed that up by simply asking what would make an Afeela vehicle in the future different than any upcoming Honda EV. The answer from Shugo was obvious: Sony's entertainment suite, such as Sony music and movie interaction, PlayStation remote play, etc., would keep Afeela distinct from any other non-Afeela vehicle.

Which got me thinking and led me to a follow-up question around how much these Sony services are actually restricted to just Afeela, especially since they already announced Honda Racing Corporation themes for the Afeela 1. The response from Shugo shocked me since he had zero hesitation around Honda fully implementing Sony Services into their future models "if they would like them." If that's the case, how would Afeela survive in a world where Honda has a full lineup of electric cars that also offer a full suite of Sony services?

This led me to my last question, what lies beyond the Afeela prototype (SUV)? This question got Shugo visibly excited, and he eagerly said, “The Afeela 1 is a 1 for a reason." In short, they set out from the very beginning to release more than just one model, and if he had his way, they would get all the way to an Afeela 50!

I think this is the reason why Afeela would be happy to offer up their services and tech to Honda since they believe they will be able to stay on the cutting edge of the market through new models that will consistently keep them one step ahead of Honda. Whether that dream comes to fruition or not is something that is still up in the air, but something I'm excited to find out!