Afeela 1Explainer
Release date
Afeela 1 release date: there won't be one, after Sony and Honda canceled the car in March
The Afeela 1 isn't coming out. Sony Honda Mobility, the joint venture of Sony and Honda, said on March 25, 2026, that it was ending development of the electric sedan and of a second Afeela model, after Honda scrapped several of its own electric cars, leaving the venture without technology it had planned to use. Deliveries had been scheduled to start in California later in 2026, at prices from $89,900. Sony Honda Mobility said it will fully refund the reservation fees of everyone holding an Afeela 1 reservation in California. On April 21, Sony and Honda said they would scale the venture down and move most of its staff back to the parent companies.
The Afeela 1 won’t come out. Sony and Honda’s electric sedan was months away from its first California customers when Sony Honda Mobility pulled the plug on March 25, 2026. Anyone who put down a reservation in California gets the fee back in full.
When does the Afeela 1 come out?
It doesn’t. The story started in September 2022, when Sony and Honda set up Sony Honda Mobility. The venture introduced the Afeela 1 at CES in Las Vegas on Jan. 6, 2025, and opened reservations in California the same day. At the time, it expected to deliver the more expensive Signature version in mid-2026, with the Origin to follow.
Things looked on track for a while. In fall 2025, Sony Honda Mobility ran trial production at Honda’s East Liberty Auto Plant in Ohio. On Jan. 5, 2026, it showed a pre-production car at CES and pushed California deliveries to late 2026, with Arizona and Japan to follow in 2027. Its first studio and delivery hub, in Torrance, California, was set to hold its grand opening on March 21.
Then the ground shifted. On March 12, Honda canceled three of its own electric cars planned for North America. Four days after the planned Torrance opening, on March 25, the Afeela 1 was canceled too, along with a second Afeela model. On April 21, Sony and Honda decided to scale the venture down.
Why did Sony and Honda cancel the Afeela 1?
Because Honda changed course on electric cars. On March 12, 2026, Honda canceled three EVs it had planned to build in the US, the Honda 0 SUV, the Honda 0 Saloon and the Acura RSX, and warned of losses from reassessing its EV strategy. Honda pointed to US tariffs, slower EV sales in the US after regulations were eased and incentives revised, and tougher competition in China.
That left the Afeela without its foundation. Sony Honda Mobility said it could no longer use some of the technology and assets Honda had originally planned to provide, and that it had no viable path to bring its cars to market as planned. In a joint statement the same day, Sony and Honda also cited changes in the EV market.
Do Afeela 1 reservation holders get their money back?
Yes. Sony Honda Mobility said on March 25 that it will issue full refunds of the reservation fees received from current holders of Afeela 1 reservations in California. Reservations opened in January 2025 with a $200 fee that the company described as fully refundable.
What was the Afeela 1 going to cost?
This was never going to be a cheap car. The Afeela 1 Origin started at $89,900 and the Afeela 1 Signature at $102,900. The Signature added 21-inch wheels, a rear entertainment system and a camera-based center mirror. Both came with a three-year subscription to the car’s driver assistance, voice assistant, entertainment content and 5G data, with the $200 reservation fee fully refundable.
What Afeela 1 specs did Sony Honda Mobility announce?
The Afeela 1 was an electric sedan built around entertainment, and it was packed with tech. It had 40 sensors, including cameras, lidar, radar and ultrasonic sensors, and a computer rated at up to 800 TOPS for driver assistance that Sony Honda Mobility planned to start at Level 2+. It showed what those sensors saw on screen using Unreal Engine, Epic Games' game engine, and had a voice assistant built on Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service.
Sony Honda Mobility estimated the Origin’s range at up to about 300 miles, and the car was compatible with Tesla’s Supercharger network. It was to be built at Honda’s East Liberty Auto Plant in Ohio, in Tidal Gray, Calm White or Core Black.
Sony’s audio work showed up in the cabin, with Sony’s 360 Spatial Sound technology, noise canceling and screens for each seat. At CES 2026, a senior vice president of Sony Interactive Entertainment, the PlayStation company, was among the guest speakers. Sony Honda Mobility said more than 100,000 people had visited its studios and events, and that it had given more than 24,000 in-car demonstrations within the first year.
What happens to Sony Honda Mobility and Afeela now?
On April 21, 2026, Sony, Honda and Sony Honda Mobility said it would be hard to bring products in line with the venture’s founding purpose to market in the short to medium term. They decided to scale its operations down, with employees in principle moving back to Sony, Honda and related companies. They said they will keep discussing how to work together on car software for a time when advanced driver assistance becomes mainstream. In January, Sony Honda Mobility had said a production car based on its Afeela Prototype 2026 could reach the US as early as 2028, and it hasn’t announced a new plan since. For other new cars, see our pages on the Tesla Cybercab and Xiaomi’s big YU9 SUV.
This page is updated as soon as Sony, Honda or Sony Honda Mobility announce new plans for Afeela.
FAQ
When does the Afeela 1 come out?
It doesn’t. Sony Honda Mobility canceled the Afeela 1 on March 25, 2026. Before that, it had planned to start deliveries in California late in 2026 and in Arizona and Japan in 2027.
Why was the Afeela 1 canceled?
On March 12, 2026, Honda canceled three of its own electric cars planned for North America and reassessed its EV strategy. Sony Honda Mobility said that left it unable to use technology and assets Honda had planned to provide, and that it had no viable way to bring the car to market as planned.
Will Afeela 1 reservation holders get a refund?
Yes. Sony Honda Mobility said it will issue full refunds of the reservation fees paid by current holders of Afeela 1 reservations in California. The fee was $200 and was advertised as fully refundable.
How much was the Afeela 1 going to cost?
The Afeela 1 Origin was priced from $89,900 and the Afeela 1 Signature from $102,900, each with a three-year subscription to its driver assistance, voice assistant and entertainment features included.
Is Sony Honda Mobility shutting down?
Not formally. On April 21, 2026, Sony, Honda and Sony Honda Mobility said they would review the venture’s structure and scale down its operations, with employees in principle moving to the parent companies. Sony and Honda said they will keep discussing how to work together on car software.
Will there be another Afeela car?
Not for now. Sony Honda Mobility canceled the Afeela 1 and its second model together. In January 2026, it had said a production car based on its Afeela Prototype 2026 could reach the US as early as 2028, and it hasn’t announced a new plan since.
Pop quiz
2 questions from this story.
Where was the Afeela 1 going to be built?
Sony Honda Mobility ran trial production of the Afeela 1 at Honda’s East Liberty Auto Plant in Ohio in fall 2025.
How much was the refundable Afeela 1 reservation fee?
Reservations opened in California in January 2025 with a fully refundable $200 fee.
Your call
Would you have bought a Sony and Honda electric car?
