CES 2022: Sony’s Spin-Off Car Company Showcases New EV Concept

From selling car stereos to designing electric cars, Sony has come a long way. At CES 2022, the Japanese brand not only showcased its concept vehicle but also spun a new company dubbed Sony Mobility Inc. As per the official website, Sony wants to explore the EV market opportunity with this new entity.

Sony had unveiled its first concept Vision-S 01 last year. It even carried out driving tests in the same year. This time around, the company went for SUV form factor with the Vision-S 02 prototype. In terms of design, Sony’s EVs look sleek enough to hold their own against Tesla’s line-up. The Japanese are not holding back anything in terms of technology either. For its EVs, the brand is betting big on safety and user experience.

For autonomous driving, Sony is using LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and high-resolution CMOS sensors to sense the surroundings. The company is currently conducting verification tests for Level 2+ autonomy status. To put things in perspective, the latest Tesla cars also offer Level 2+ autonomous system.

The dashboard will be dominated by a panoramic touchscreen interface. Apart from that, you will be able to interact with gestures and voice commands. The car’s display and audio will be customisable through the companion mobile app. It will be 5G ready for high-speed connectivity on the go. Much like Tesla, Sony plans to offer more features via software updates.

Taking advantage of its in-house multimedia expertise, Sony has plans to equip the car with “360 Reality Audio” and “Bravia Core” video service for passengers. Using remote play capabilities, you can even enjoy PlayStation games during the journey.

Since these are prototypes, Sony has not shared any key specifications such as the powertrain, top speed, range, top speed, acceleration etc. For now, it is hard to tell whether the brand is committed to take plunge in this lucrative market.