Following their massive success with electronics like video game consoles, cameras and many more, Japan’s Sony Group announced their major plans to enter the electric vehicle market after revealing two prototypes at CES 2022.
Along with the two concept cars shown at the popular annual trade show, Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida also stated that the group will launch a new company called Sony Mobility Inc. in the spring of 2022 to explore the commercial launch of the EVs they are currently developing.
The Japanese corporation first showcased their interest in producing EVs back in 2020, when they first unveiled the Vision-S concept sedan at CES 2020. While at first, it seemed like the company was showing off their chops at building a concept car, CES 2022 confirmed that Sony has major aspirations in the world of electric vehicles.
At the latest iteration of the trade show, Sony unveiled the second prototype in their EV series called the Vision-S 02 concept SUV. With Sony putting their foot down in the world of mobility, it seems like these concepts will come to life sooner than most people expected.
The EV market has grown massively in recent years, thanks to an explosion of investments from both auto manufacturers and premium tech companies. With global auto giants like Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler adding new battery-powered vehicles to their lineup, the market is shaping up to be a major battleground for many companies.
To spice up the competition, it seems like tech companies also want a piece of the pie with titans of the industries like Apple reportedly having plans to develop their own EV as well.
The Vision-S prototypes feature a plethora of Sony’s in-house Artificial Intelligence (AI) and sensor technologies that will help in their efforts to create semi-autonomous cars. While the Vision- S 01 featured about 33 sensors, the 7-seater SUV Vision-S 02 will have around 40 high sensitivity, high resolution CMOS, LiDAR sensors and many more.
Additionally, Sony even showed off the 5G connectivity feature by releasing a small clip in which a Vision-S concept car in Germany was driven from Japan in real-time.
It will be interesting to see how Sony enters the market later this year. As the industry heats up, it remains to be seen if the Japanese corporation can succeed again by taking a massive risk to enter a tightly contested EV world.
