Power Wheels Magazine A Notch Above
Tokyo, Japan – Sony Group Corporation (“Sony”) and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (“Honda”) announced that they have signed a 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 announcement is the furtherance and result of discussion of a strategic alliance in the mobility field between the parties as announced in the joint press release entitled “Sony and Honda Sign Memorandum of Understanding for Strategic Alliance in Mobility Field” on March 4, 2022.
Sony Honda Vision S electric vehicle prototype
The new company, Sony Honda Mobility Inc., will aim to 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 are closely aligned with users and the environment, and continue to evolve going forward.
Sony and Honda plan to establish the new company within 2022 and to begin the sale of EVs and provision of services for mobility in 2025. The establishment of the new company and the start of business are subject to relevant regulatory approvals. The planned company will be based in Tokyo, Japan with a capitalization of 10 Billion yen (around PhP5B). Sony Group Corporation will have 50% stake in the new company while Honda Motor Co., Ltd. will have the other 50%. The members of the board of directors will include Yasuhide Mizuno as Representative Director, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO); Izumi Kawanishi as Representative Director, President and Chief Operations Officer (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).
Sony Group Corporation President and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida
“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”, said Kenichiro Yoshida, Representative Corporate Executive Officer, Chairman, President and CEO of Sony Group Corporation. “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.”
Honda Motor Co. Ltd. President and CEO Toshihiro Mibe
For his part, Toshihiro Mibe, Director, President, Representative Executive Officer and CEO of Honda Motor Co., Ltd., stated, “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.”
Sony Honda Mobility Inc. Chairman and CEO Yashuhide Mizuno
Yasuhide Mizuno, Representative Director, Chairman and CEO of the planned Sony Honda Mobility Inc. and Senior Managing Officer of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. looked forward to the benefits of the partnership between Sony and Honda. “We are very pleased to sign this joint venture agreement, which represents the start line from which we embark on the major challenge of revolutionizing mobility and creating new value. We plan to fully leverage the technological assets the two companies possess in different fields, such as Sony’s sensing technology and Honda’s original mobility development capabilities, to realize mobility and services that inspire and excite our customers. By bringing together the expertise of both companies, we aim to lead the way in a new era.”
Sony Honda Mobility Inc. President and COO Izumi Kawanishi
“I am very pleased to have reached this day, which represents a major milestone in realizing the initiatives we have been working on until now with the aim of contributing to the evolution of mobility”, expressed Izumi Kawanishi, Representative Director, President and COO of the planned Sony Honda Mobility Inc. and Executive Vice President of Sony Group Corporation. “By combining the many strengths of Sony and Honda, we intend to accelerate development and lead the evolution of mobility by realizing mobility as an emotional space rooted in safety and security, and the related services.”
