Mariella Moon
·Associate Editor
Wed, January 5, 2022, 12:13 AM·2 min read
At this year's CES, Sony has unveiled a follow up to the electric car it revealed at the same event two years ago. The new prototype is an SUV that the company is calling Vision-S 02. Sony took the sedan's EV and cloud platforms and put them in a new form factor to create the vehicle, which features a large interior that can seat seven.
The electric SUV has sensors all over its body, including CMOS image and LiDAR sensors for its driver assistance system. Sony says it's conducting tests in Europe as part of its efforts to release a Level 2+ driver assistance technology on public roads. Inside, there are Time-of-Flight sensors for driver authentication, as well as support for intuitive gesture and voice commands. The vehicle will also have 5G connectivity to enable over-the-air updates and remote operation, which Sony is currently working on with its partners.
While the Vision-S 02 is just a prototype at the moment, Sony has ambitions to become a player in the electric vehicle industry and sell its cars to the public. It will establish an operating company named "Sony Mobility Inc." this spring and will explore entry into the EV market. The company didn't reveal what other steps it's taking to achieve that goal, and it remains to be seen whether it'll truly be able to release its Vision-S vehicles. It's worth noting, however, that Sony has been testing its electric sedan on public roads in Europe since December 2020 and has also started verification tests of the safety and user experience of the vehicle's imaging and sensing technology.
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Sony looks to electric cars for its next big hit
Tue, January 4, 2022
By Shinji Kitamura
(Reuters) - Japan's Sony Group Corp plans to launch a company this spring to examine entering the electric vehicle market, looking to harness its strengths in entertainment and sensors to play a bigger role in next-generation mobility.
The new company, Sony Mobility Inc, comes as the Japanese tech giant is "exploring a commercial launch" of electric vehicles, Sony chairman and president Kenichiro Yoshida told a news conference, speaking ahead of the CES technology trade fair in the United States.
"With our imaging and sensing, cloud, 5G and entertainment technologies combined with our contents mastery, we believe Sony is well positioned as a creative entertainment company to redefine mobility," he said.
Although its once-dominant position in consumer electronics has been eroded by Asian rivals like South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co, Sony still has an arsenal of sophisticated technology in areas such as sensors critical to autonomous driving.
It also remains one of the world's biggest entertainment companies, home to prominent video game and movie franchises. Audio and entertainment systems are increasingly a focus for next-generation vehicles.
Shares in Sony jumped 4.2% in Tokyo after the electric vehicle plans were announced, easily outpacing a flat Nikkei index.
Yoshida unveiled a prototype sport utility vehicle (SUV), the VISION-S 02, which uses the same electric vehicle platform as the previously announced VISION-S 01 coupe that began testing on public roads in Europe from December 2020.
He said the company saw mobility as an "entertainment space" where passengers could chose individual entertainment options and use 5G internet connection.
Wall Street is betting heavily on electric cars and the global auto industry has been upended by Tesla Inc, now the world's most valuable automaker. Many investors also expect Apple Inc to launch its own vehicle within the next few years.
Japan's Toyota Motor Corp in December committed $70 billion to electrify its automobiles by 2030.
(Reporting by Shinji Kitamura; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Kenneth Maxwell)
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