Sony Honda Mobility plan to deliver first EVs in 2026

Sony Group and Honda first announced a joint venture called Sony Honda Mobility (SHM) back in June with plans to develop and ship electric vehicles. To do this, both companies are equally investing 5 billion yen ($35.05 million) into the project. In the latest update from SHM, a 2026 timeline to deliver its EVs has been revealed.

SHM’s electric vehicles will be available for purchase online in both the United States and Japan, with pre-orders opening up during the first half of 2025. In a press release from Sony Honda Mobility today, the following information on its EVs was shared:

▪ SHM aims to become a software-oriented “Mobility Tech Company” by providing high value-added products and services, and by building new relations with customers.
▪ The companyʼ s purpose is to “Move people, through the pursuit of innovation with diverse inspirations.”
▪ Pre-orders for the first product are planned to begin in the first half of 2025, with sales to commence before the end of 2025. Delivery is planned to start in the United States in Spring 2026, followed by Japan in the second half of 2026.
▪ The new companyʼ s high value-added EV concept is defined as the 3Aʼ s for Autonomy, Augmentation, and Affinity. Cutting-edge technologies will be applied to realize the 3Aʼs.
▪ SHM will design a comprehensive service architecture that incorporates an integrated service framework, consistent throughout from in-vehicle software to cloud-based software.

Additional details and specs provided by SHM for its EVs include plans to develop Level 3 automated drive capabilities “under limited conditions” (self-driving) and to enable Level 2+ driver assistance “in even more situations such as urban driving.”

Some of the hardware it plans to incorporate in its EVs include a high-performance system on a chip (SoC) with a total processing power exceeding 800 tera operations per second (TOPS). Additionally, the company aims to develop a new human-machine interface to help provide a “personalized in-care experience through cloud-service connectivity.”

SHM has yet to share what its electric vehicle might look like, and it’s yet to provide key information in regards to pricing, battery tech, and range. That said, the company has stated that its first model will feature a somewhat “high price range.” The vehicles will give SHM other ways to enjoy a steady stream of revenue as well given that the software system will reportedly boast optional cloud-based subscription-like services with monthly billing for things like entertainment.

For more on Sony Honda Mobility and its EVs, which are set to ship out in early 2026, be sure to read through today’s announcement from SHM. And for more electric vehicle news, check out some of our previous coverage including Ford recently hiking the entry-level price of its F-150 Lightning EV to $51,974, and Rivian reporting that it’s on track to meet its 2022 goals with production growing 67 percent in Q3.