Sony Group Corporation (“Sony”) and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (“Honda”) recently announced their joint venture agreement to establish a new company to engage in the sale of high-value-added electric vehicles (EVs) and provide services for mobility. The strategic alliance was announced in the joint press release entitled “Sony and Honda Sign Memorandum of Understanding for Strategic Alliance in Mobility Field” on March 4, 2022.
The new company that will be called Sony Honda Mobility Inc., will bring together Honda’s cutting-edge environmental and safety technologies, mobility development capabilities, vehicle body manufacturing technology, and after-sales service management experience, with Sony’s expertise in the development and application of imaging, sensing, telecommunication, network, and entertainment technologies, to realize a new generation of mobility and services for mobility that is closely aligned with users and the environment, and continue to evolve going forward.
To be based in Tokyo, Japan, the new company will have an initial 10 billion yen investment which is equally split between Sony Group Corporation and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. The listed members of the board shall be Yasuhide Mizuno, Representative Director, Chairman and CEO; Izumi Kawanishi, Representative Director, President and COO; Shugo Yamaguchi, Director and Deputy President; Kojiro Okabe, Director and Executive Vice President; Manabu Ozawa, Director (Honda Motor Co., Ltd.); and Naoya Horii, Director (Sony Group Corporation).
“Based on our vision to ‘make the mobility space an emotional one,’ Sony’s initiatives in the mobility business are centered around the three areas of safety, entertainment, and adaptability. As we continue our learnings in these areas, we are excited to have met a partner, Honda, with extensive global achievements and knowledge, and to sign the joint venture agreement between the two companies. Going forward, we aim to contribute to the evolution of mobility by combining Honda’s cutting-edge environmental and safety technologies, mobility development capabilities, vehicle body manufacturing technology, and after-sales service management experience, with our expertise in imaging, sensing, telecommunication, network and entertainment technologies,” said Kenichiro Yoshida, Representative Corporate Executive Officer, Chairman, President and CEO, Sony Group Corporation
For his part, Toshihiro Mibe, Director, President, Representative Executive Officer and CEO, Honda Motor Co., Ltd. said “Honda continues to take on new challenges in the environmental, safety, and other advanced fields in order to be a driving force for social change through mobility, and ‘become the power that supports people around the world who are trying to do things based on their own initiative.’ We are very pleased to have signed a joint venture agreement with Sony, which has strengths in advanced digital technology and shares our desire to take on new challenges. Since its announcement in March, many people have expressed their expectations for this joint venture. At the new company, we will strive to create new value through the fusion brought about by the combination of our different industries, so please look forward to future developments.”
As per the released timeline, the new company shall be established within the year (2022) and begin the sale of EVs and other services for mobility by 2025. However, these dates are subject to relevant regulatory approvals.
Read more about Honda here:
- https://ignition.ph/news/honda-cars-ph-strengthens-presence-in-luzon
- https://ignition.ph/news/launched-all-new-hr-v-with-vtec-turbo-engine-and-honda-sensing-with-brochure
- https://ignition.ph/features/driving-south-with-the-all-new-honda-civic-with-honda-sensing
- https://ignition.ph/news/11th-gen-all-new-2022-honda-civic-now-available