Kenichiro Yoshida, chairman, president and chief executive of Sony Group, announced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on Tuesday that Sony will set up an operating company, Sony Mobility, through which Sony plans to explore the electric vehicle market in the spring of 2022.
In 2020, Sony launched a prototype electric vehicle called Vision-S, and in December of the same year, it began a public road test in Europe to verify the safety of the image and sensing technology installed inside and outside the car and the user experience of the human-machine interface (HMI) system, and began to conduct 5G environmental driving tests in April 2021.
On Tuesday, Sony unveiled a sport utility vehicle (SUV), the VISION-S 02, which is essentially the same size as the previous generation, with a body length of 192.7 inches, a width of 76 inches and a height of 65 inches. As an electric SUV concept car, Sony's newly exhibited Vision-S 02 also has similarities with the Tesla Model Y.
Kenichiro Yoshida said at the show that Sony sees the car as an "entertainment space" where passengers can choose personal entertainment options and use a 5G internet connection.
And in addition to having seat speakers and panoramic screens that create a "three-dimensional sound field" around passengers, the car will also allow game streaming and remotely connect to PlayStation consoles.
According to the Financial Times, David Gibson, an analyst at MST Financial, said the "entertainment space" is unlikely to be a major strategy for the company, which is more about showcasing Sony's electronic components and systems and then selling them to rivals in the auto industry.
Sony said the VISION-S 02 also boasts other features, including the ability for drivers to customize the sound the car makes when the battery motor changes speed. In addition to the traditional engine roar, the car can also emit music samples, movie lines or cheers as it accelerates and brakes.
After U.S. stock market on January 6, Sony fell 1.66% to $126.460 per share.
