A high-end model with entertainment features like movies and video games is expected to be the first Sony (NYSE: SONY) -1.28 percent automobile, the company’s CEO said.
Interviewee: During a trip to the country HMC -3.41 percent facility in Marysville, Ohio, Sony Group Corp’s Kenichiro Yoshida discussed the company’s partnership with Honda Motor Co. A joint venture between Sony and Honda announced in March that it will begin selling electric vehicles in 2025.
Customers will increasingly pay for software downloads and entertainment on a subscription basis, according to Mr. Yoshida. At least $99 a month is required to use Tesla Inc.’s complete self-driving service, which costs $10/per month to upgrade the connection in the car.
Currently, the automobile industry is “moving toward EVs, and at the same time they’ll be tied up to a network, so they’re being transformed into a tech product,” Mr. Yoshida added.
It was likened to PlayStation, which sells the $500 PlayStation 5 console along with a monthly membership service called PlayStation Plus, which includes online gaming, streaming content, and the ability to download games. PlayStation Plus has 47.4 million customers as of the first quarter of the current year.
PS3 hardware is more expensive than rivals because it is aimed at players who are willing to spend a lot of money on it—a mindset Mr. Yoshida plans on carrying over to the Sony automobile.
There is a lot of competition in the electric vehicle industry, particularly at the top end, with Mercedes-Benz and newcomers like Lucid Group Inc., making it difficult for Sony to stand apart.
Honda will be the exclusive source of production for the Sony-Honda joint venture. The Vision S concept automobile was formerly built by Magna Steyr, an Austrian subsidiary of Magna International Inc.
EV truck producer Rivian Automotive Inc., a relative newcomer to the automotive industry with its own plants, has had difficulty scaling up to mass production.
Honda’s Ohio plant’s tooling, welding, and painting departments were visited by Mr. Yoshida. He sighed and continued, “That would be tough to accomplish on our own.” In the end, “it’s clear that you need a companion.”
As of right now, drivers can only watch movies or play video games while driving, but Mr. Yoshida voiced optimism that fully autonomous driving will be widely available within the next several years. He stated that Sony may apply what it has learned from its PlayStation 5 haptic controllers, which send vibrations and other sensory input, for videogamers in their cars.
As a result, Mr. Yoshida said the Honda-Sony joint venture may one day become autonomous and partner with other carmakers. That or the Sony CEO’s manufacturing trip was not mentioned by Honda.
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