--- title: "I Don’t Afeela So Good About Sony’s Screen-Filled Electric Car Anymore" description: "A new version of the Afeela sedan by Sony and Honda will be shown at CES in January. But its vision of the future is starting to feel stale." date: "2024-11-14" modified: "2024-11-14" authors: - name: "Adam Ismail" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/adam-ismail" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/another-sony-honda-ev-prototype-is-coming-but-does-anyone-want-it" categories: - "Car Tech" - "Electric Vehicles" - "News" --- # I Don’t Afeela So Good About Sony’s Screen-Filled Electric Car Anymore ![Front three-quarter image of Sony Honda Afeela sedan prototype.]() *\Sony Honda Mobility\* Before I started writing and editing stories about cars on a daily basis, I was covering consumer tech, specifically smartphones. The auto industry moves fast, but tech moves faster. Think about it: Giants like [Apple]() and Samsung redesign entire product lines on an annual basis. Two decades ago, the smallest semiconductors were 90 nanometers in size; now, they're only 3 nm and *still* shrinking. How many [AI-generated images]() or videos did you come across on your social media feeds, say, five years ago? The pace of advancement is relentless, and as cars have become increasingly driven by software, that acceleration has overflowed into our sector, too. That's why vehicles that felt otherworldly at the start of the decade [no longer do](), and why Sony and Honda's mission to jointly sell EVs under a new brand, called [Afeela](), is already unfashionably late. It turns out Sony Honda Mobility is planning on unveiling an updated version of its Afeela sedan prototype at Las Vegas' Consumer Electronics Show in January. I'll be there, and I'm looking forward to seeing it. Our old friend [Maddox Kay over at *InsideEVs*]() got the scoop while checking out the current concept in New York. What we now know as Afeela first came on the scene in early 2020, with [Sony's Vision-S]() show car. Built by Magna-Steyr in Austria and subject to a [steady regime of testing]() for its self-driving capabilities, Sony revealed [an SUV version]() two years later, joined forces with Honda shortly after that, and showed off the revised sedan you see above in January 2023. Unless Sony Honda Mobility announces a new timeline at CES, the target for Afeela's production launch is, as we understand it, the first half of 2026. Cars take a long time to build, which puts automakers in an especially tough spot because regulations and consumer tastes are constantly shifting. In 2020, an electric sedan like the Vision-S with a screen stretching from pillar to pillar was relatively novel. Failed startups like [Byton]() (anyone remember *Byton*?) based their entire identities around that tech. But today, you can buy a [Cadillac Escalade]() with a 55-inch display, plus a driver-oriented tablet below the dash for good measure. You can get about half those pixels [in a Kia K4](). A huge screen just isn't special anymore. ![]() ![]() ![]() Not only that, but it arguably wasn't even that special to begin with. Reading this latest Afeela news, my mind immediately wandered back to that recent Hyundai Design North America presentation, where execs at the company found that drivers in North America, at least, [were "stressed, annoyed, and steamed" by touchscreen-dependent controls]() during focus group testing. HDNA Vice President Ha Hak-soo, in the words of [*Korea JoongAng Daily*](), "admitted that the company, like much of the auto industry, had initially been taken in by the 'wow' factor of the massive multimedia systems that Tesla pioneered—but that it was not, ultimately, what Hyundai wanted to go for." One of Afeela's calling cards is a wide-ass screen. Another is its Level 3 self-driving technology. Mercedes-Benz became the first automaker to gain approval to sell Level 3-equipped cars in select states [late last year](); some global markets have allowed them for a bit longer. The patchwork legislation around testing and deploying cars with increasing degrees of autonomy could very well change under the incoming Trump administration, as that's something Tesla CEO and likely government consultant [Elon Musk has stated that he wants to address](). Whether that happens or not, autonomy isn't exactly a feature consumers appear to be champing at the bit for, especially amid a rejection of [in-car software and subscriptions](), touchscreens, and—to some extent—fully electric powertrains by the American car-owning public. ![]() ![]() Look, I don't want Afeela to fail. I'm not entirely sure that it will. As a geek, I've always appreciated [Sony's philosophy toward design](), and I'd love to be wrong about this. But a sedan at a time when sedans aren't selling; an EV at a time when [demand for EVs has plateaued](); and a vehicle defined by massive displays when people have unequivocally expressed that they miss stupid, simple buttons doesn't feel like a winning formula. In 2019, a product like it might've looked like where the market was headed. As 2024 draws to a close, I'm less confident than ever that's the case—and about a year and a half from now, the first Afeela-badged vehicles could be on American roads. How do you sell a vision of the future from five years ago? Seems like we're about to find out. *Got tips? Send ’em to tips@thedrive.com* ## Author Adam is a Senior Editor at The Drive, concentrating on curating and developing the site's slate of daily journalism, from initial pitch to final copy edit. When he's not at his desk researching leads and working with writers, he's testing vehicles or reviewing racing games, new and old. He joined The Drive in 2023, following seven years of covering consumer technology and cars. A car lover and gamer since his earliest memories, Adam came to know the automotive world through video games. First it was Daytona USA, Sega Rally, and Ridge Racer; then came Need For Speed, which inspired an encyclopedic knowledge of '90s supercars, and, of course, Gran Turismo. If not for them, he'd assuredly be doing something else right now. Adam is based in the suburbs outside Philly, where there are ample roads for his hot hatch to stretch its legs. In his car, he's probably listening to indie rock, drum and bass, or Yankees baseball. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()