Sony is looking for new technology partners who will contribute to its EV project by establishing a vehicle that not only provides mobility but also serves as a source of entertainment.
Sony Corporation shared that it is looking for new technology partners for its electric vehicle project to form a mobility business that helps transform cars from transport machines into entertainment spaces, an executive of Sony said, Reuters reported.
As the auto industry accelerates toward electrification, Izumi Kawanishi, Senior General Manager responsible for the new Sony Mobility business, says the risk of ignoring EVs outweighs the challenge they pose.
He also added that the transformation of future vehicles is similar to the way information technology changes the phone into a smartphone. Kawanishi adds that the company is looking for new partners based on the technology that they can bring to the EV project in any given country.
(Also read | Sony electric car is about to launch commercially, possibly an SUV: Details here)
Sony unveiled the Vision-S 02 and Vision-S 01, an electric SUV and electric sedan prototype, at CES 2022 which ends this month. Sony Manager For the first time, CEO Kenichiro Yoshida hinted that the PlayStation production company aims to turn an electric vehicle project that was initiated two years ago into a money-making project.
Sony’s EV prototypes have been developed at a factory in Austria owned by Canadian auto parts maker Magna International. The latter also produced vehicles for companies including BMW car, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota Motor Corp. Other European-based project members include German auto parts maker Bosch, French automotive technology company Valeo SE and Hungarian autonomous vehicle startup Aimotive.
(Also read | Sony Vision-S cars may not hit the streets but focus on innovation: Report)
With the move, Sony is joining a fleet of tech companies that are exploring automotive opportunities, including iPhone maker Apple Inc and Taiwan’s LG Electronics of South Korea’s LG.
Date of first publication: January 22, 2022, 10:33 AM IST
