Car stuff (public number: chedongxi)
The author | James
Edit the | Xiao Han
Just now, Sony and Honda announced a joint car-making plan!
On March 4, Beijing time, Sony and Honda signed a memorandum of understanding, and the two sides will establish a joint venture this year to jointly develop electric vehicles, and the first car will start selling in 2025.
▲ An agreement between Honda and Sony
According to the agreement between the two sides, Honda will use its car-making technology to create electric vehicles, and Sony will use its experience in imaging, sensors, communications, networks, entertainment and other fields to create a vehicle travel and service platform, equivalent to the intelligent components of the vehicle.
This is another blockbuster message in the automotive sector after Sony released its new prototype VISION-S 02 in January and announced the establishment of Sony Mobility Inc. this spring. This represents the official determination of the model of Sony's car.
Moreover, Sony's cooperation with Honda has also given a head to other technology companies around the world that are laying out their automotive businesses: if they really want to engage in the electric vehicle business, cooperation with traditional car companies may be a shortcut.
First, a joint venture will be established to launch the first car in 2025
The memorandum of understanding signed by Sony and Honda shows that the two sides have decided to set up a joint venture company, will continue to negotiate the implementation details, binding clauses, and reach a final version of the joint development agreement and the joint venture agreement.
After the agreement is reached and approved by the relevant regulators, Honda and Sony will set up a new joint venture to jointly build cars this year.
▲Sony prototype Vision-S 02
All along, Sony has been in the field of imaging, sensors, communications, networking, entertainment and other fields, the layout of the automotive field is basically the car machine system and sensors. Sony leverages its capabilities in these areas to accurately control the needs of users in the field of mobility services.
At the same time, as one of the leading companies in the global automotive field, Honda has strong mobility service development, vehicle manufacturing, automobile sales and after-sales channel management capabilities.
As a result, the two companies reached an agreement to jointly build a car.
The two companies plan to plan, design, develop and sell electric vehicles after the establishment of the joint venture. The manufacturing process will be completed by Honda, which is expected to be responsible for building the joint venture's first electric vehicle at its auto plant. At the same time, Sony will be responsible for developing a mobility service platform and providing it to the joint venture company for loading.
As Toshihiro Mibu, CEO of Honda Motors, said, Sony and Honda are very similar in their company cultures, but the technologies they are good at are completely different. The joint construction of cars by the two companies will provide more possibilities for future mobility.
Second, Sony has unveiled two concept cars Intelligence is the highlight
At the 2020 CES Consumer Electronics Show, Sony unexpectedly launched a pure electric vehicle called Vision-S, triggering the automotive industry's unlimited reverie for Sony-made cars. Sony is also quite "competitive", in January this year again launched a pure electric SUV model Vision-S 02, and also announced the establishment of Sony mobility company, Sony car manufacturing officially opened the curtain.
Among the two prototypes that have been unveiled, the design of the intelligent vehicle and machine system is a very big highlight.
In the Sony Vision-S, a five-panel design is used in the car, and the screen runs through the entire instrument table. And Sony PlayStation's DualSense controller can also be connected to the central control screen, showing the "Little Big Planet" game screen.
▲Vision-S's in-car through instrument panel
In other aspects of intelligence, vision-S can achieve human-computer interactions including facial, speech and gesture recognition.
▲Vision-S dashboard
In fact, from 2021, Sony has already begun road testing the Vision-S car. It was winter, and Sony's Vision-S electric car was being tested in snow-capped Austria.
Conclusion: Tech giants have squeezed into the ranks of car manufacturers
In fact, since last year, a number of technology giants have entered the field of car manufacturing. In China, Xiaomi and Baidu announced the construction of cars, the former to build their own factories, the latter is to cooperate with the traditional car company Geely.
Anecdotal rumors show that Apple may also be laying out a car.
The joining of technology giants will truly bring cutting-edge technology in the field of consumer electronics to the car, making the car more and more technological like mobile phones and computers.