Sony seeking new partners to support its EV project

Sony seeking new partners to support its EV project

According to a report by Reuters, Sony is looking for new technology partners to support its potential entry into the electric vehicle market. In January this year, the company unveiled the Vision-S 02 prototype, the follow-up to the Vision-S 01, and confirmed it had set up a new entity, Sony Mobility, to explore a commercial entry into the segment.

“We see the risk of ignoring EVs as greater than the challenge they pose,” said Izumi Kawanishi, who is currently the senior vice president of Sony’s AI Robotics division and will soon head Sony Mobility. He also noted that the current state of EVs is similar to how information technology transformed phones into smartphones.

So far, the two Vision EV prototypes from Sony were built by Magna Steyr in Austria and involved other companies Bosch, Valeo, and Almotive in their development. Proceeding with mass production will require Sony to make a substantial investment to set up a production facility, so balancing development cost with any partners will be helpful. Established carmakers already present in the space like Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen, Stellantis and others have already thrown a lot of money to develop and build their EVs.

Partnering with Chinese companies could be a viable option for Sony, but the maker of the PlayStation 5 isn’t revealing much for now. “Sony will pick new partners for its EV project based on the technology they can bring to the project, without regard to their nationality,” Kawanishi said.

Sony won’t be the only one looking to get in on the EV business, as other tech companies such as Apple, LG, Foxconn, the Alibaba Group, Xiaomi and Huawei have hinted or already announced similar intentions. The high levels of connectivity and other features have attracted newcomers to the idea of making EVs, which are considered easier to build compared to regular internal combustion engine cars.

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Gerard Lye

Originating from the corporate world with a background in finance and economics, Gerard’s strong love for cars led him to take the plunge into the automotive media industry. It was only then did he realise that there are more things to a car than just horsepower count.

 

Comments

  • Dong Gor on Jan 24, 2022 at 5:07 pm

    Try panasonic first.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 1
    • LGE oppa on Jan 25, 2022 at 5:15 pm

      smart prosumers dissapointed at sony never produced kitchens appliance, air-conditioner, fridge refrigerator, now Sony too proudly wanna makes electric automobile…..

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • mastermind on Jan 24, 2022 at 5:52 pm

    Sony should go to Lotus, Tesla also outsource to Lotus for Tesla Roadster

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Semi-Value (Member) on Jan 24, 2022 at 8:42 pm

    dei, release more ps5’s first la

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 1
    • What does that have to do with automotive?

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 5
      • Semi-Value (Member) on Jan 25, 2022 at 10:28 pm

        a company that cant even focus properly on its current production lines would need to exert more of its focus on a segment it has never entered.

        that said, your brain got function or not one

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
 

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