Overview
- Sony Honda Mobility said Wednesday it is ending development and the planned launch of the Afeela 1 and a second model.
- The venture cited Honda’s March 12 reassessment of its EV plans, which changed access to Honda technologies and assets that SHM had planned to use.
- The joint venture will not dissolve now and Sony, Honda, and SHM will review SHM’s direction and promise a decision on its future as soon as possible.
- SHM will refund reservation fees in the U.S., even as a new Torrance, California presentation and delivery site opened March 21 and pre-series builds had already begun at Honda’s East Liberty plant in Ohio.
- Outlets noted wider EV headwinds in the U.S., with Stern pointing to policy rollbacks and softer demand and others focusing on the JV review and the unusual late-stage cancellation.