The electric vehicle industry is fiercely fighting Sony (SONY.US) road to car building is bumpy and difficult

From personal music players to game consoles, Sony US) often takes risks in order to become an industry pioneer. This time, but for the Japanese consumer tech giant, a move into the electric vehicle industry could take risk to a new level.

Investors were amazed that Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said at a tech show in Las Vegas this week that the company would set up Sony Mobility. Sony shares, however, fell more than 4 percent on Thursday as they considered sony's actual electric vehicles powered by sensors, consumer electronics and entertainment products could face serious challenges from industry rivals.

Some analysts believe that the main goal of Sony brand cars is to create an automated connected car to provide services for platforms such as car sharing and ride-hailing, which may eventually exceed car sales.

MarketsandMarkets estimates that by 2030, the size of the "mobile-as-a-service" market will surge to $40 billion from around $3 billion last year.

But analysts point out that Sony is likely to have to invest heavily in car factories and equipment to bring the Vision-S electric vehicle prototype that debuted in Las Vegas two years ago to the market in order to compete effectively with the electric car giants.

Takaki Nakanishi, an automotive analyst at the Nakanishi Research Institute in Tokyo, said of Kenichiro Yoshida's statement: "It will be very difficult to succeed in this industry."

Industry leader Tesla (TSLA. US) launched its first electric car in 2008, and after years of losses, the company has invested billions of dollars to revolutionize the auto industry, relying on investor support.

Today, as countries try to reduce carbon emissions by phasing out gasoline and diesel-powered cars, analysts generally agree that the accelerated shift in electric vehicles may be beneficial to big tech companies, which, with the blessing of technology, are easier to build than cars with internal combustion engines.

Nakanishi added that Sony is joining the ranks of big tech companies exploring development opportunities in the automotive industry, which also includes iPhone maker Apple (AAPL. US), LG Electronics of South Korea and Foxconn of Taiwan.

But for their cars to be officially on the road, they must also comply with a wide range of safety regulations that are much stricter than those of consumer electronics, and car parts must withstand harsh road and outdoor environments.

Nakanish said: "Sony is having a hard time doing what Tesla is doing, the obstacles in front of them are too high." Sony has not said whether or how it will produce branded cars, but the company has hired a number of well-known automakers, including Canadian auto parts maker Mangana International (MGA. US), German auto parts manufacturer Bosch, French automotive technology company Valeo and Hungarian self-driving car startup AImotive.

Currently, Toyota, General Motors (GM. US), Volkswagen and Stellantis (STLA. Established automakers such as US) are fighting back, planning to invest hundreds of billions of dollars, which will put tech companies like Sony in a more competitive environment.

For some technology companies, the attractiveness of building electric vehicles has declined, and the risk of building cars has far exceeded the attractiveness. In 2018, James Dyson, inventor of the new vacuum cleaner, abandoned his electric car plans because the complexity of building cars was beyond imagination.

Sony rival Panasonic has also avoided producing full-vehicle electric vehicles, but has provided batteries for Tesla electric vehicles. A Panasonic spokesperson said: "Panasonic is not considering producing Panasonic brand electric vehicles."