Honda and Sony Unveil Their New — and Doomed — California-Only Afeela Electric Car

Honda doesn’t seem to believe that electric cars are the future. Click the “Electrified” tab on their website, and you’ll see five hybrids and only one fully electric car, the Prologue — a car that Honda didn’t develop. Instead, it’s mostly a re-bodied Chevrolet Blazer EV, sharing the same platform, battery, motors, and general dimensions, and though an in-house Honda EV platform is supposedly coming in 2026, they haven’t shared any details of those production cars. Internationally, they’ve put more energy into making EVs — the highlight being their retro Honda E city car — but all have been sales flops.Today at the Consumer Electronics Show, Honda tried to change the tune with the unveiling of Afeela 1, their new, all-electric sedan, made in collaboration with Sony under the new “Afeela” sub-brand. First shown in concept car form five years ago, it promises to be one of the most advanced electric cars outside of Communist China, with Level 2+ driver assist, an AI personal assistant, massive screens in the front and back seat, and LiDar self-driving pods on the windshield. Sony and Honda have been relatively quiet about the details of Afeela’s platform, but it has a 91 kilo-watt hour battery, will be compatible with Tesla’s Supercharging Network, and will have a targeted range of “up to 300 miles,” which is fine if unremarkable.Afeela 1. Courtesy of AfeelaThat would all be fine, were it not for the price. The Afeela 1 will come in two trims, with a $102,900 Afeela 1 Signature releasing in 2026, and the entry $89,900 Afeela 1 Origin following a year later. Oh, and it’s only releasing in California.Again, this looks like a well-thought-out car, and Sony’s involvement guarantees that it will have one of the best infotainment systems on the market — albeit one entirely controlled by touch screens, which few people like. Yet why would anyone buy this?Afeela 1. Courtesy of AfeelaIt’s expensive but doesn’t look that premium; its range is unremarkable; Sony and Honda spoke nothing about its driving dynamics, suggesting the Afeela 1 won’t be particularly fast or dynamic; and you can tell a home-electronics brand was involved in the design because it’s utterly soulless. It looks like the default version of a rounded electric sedan, down to the bland cover wheels, slab sides, and a light-bar grill; there’s no passion or character here. Also, Afeela locks their self-driving features behind an unspecified subscription, which new buyers will only get three years of for free.This is an incredibly tough sell. For the same money, you can get a far faster Tesla, with better range, or a more luxurious, stylish Lucid, or a low-mile Porsche Taycan and Audi e-Tron GT; and you can get any of those today, in any state.Honda 0 Series SUV Concept. Courtesy of HondaOr you could buy one of Honda’s upcoming in-house electric cars, which they are happy to put their brand name on. Only a few hours after the Afeela production unveil, Honda showed off two pre-production concepts of their “0 Series” cars, running on their new electric platform. There are no details on them, and these are design concepts, but at least they look great. And when they do hit production, one would expect their prices to be more competitive with companies like Hyundai and Kia rather than Afeela’s six-figure aspirations. They also will be available in more than one state.Honda 0 Series Saloon. Courtesy of Honda

Honda and Sony Unveil Their New — and Doomed — California-Only Afeela Electric Car

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