Honda Motors Co. (OTCMKTS: HNDAF) and Sony Group Co. (OTCMKTS: SNEJF) announced they’re teaming up to develop electric vehicles. This collaboration will bring together two huge Japanese business outfits that have failed to take advantage of some of the major tech trends of the century.
On Friday, the companies said they’d develop a joint venture endeavor to sell electric vehicles in 2025. Sony used to lead in the portable devices space like the Walkman. However, it hasn’t done well in the smartphone era and has lost its position to the likes of Samsung Electronics and Apple Inc. Honda is also nowhere near Tesla in the electric vehicles segment.
Management statements
On Friday, Kenichiro Yoshida, Sony’s Chief Executive Officer, said the company would not miss taking advantage of the next major tech trend, which he believes is internet-connected electric vehicles.
Sony is looking to leverage its video content and videogames prowess, which has helped revive it in recent years. Toshihiro Mibe, Honda Chief Executive Officer, echoed Sony’s concerns saying:
Honda will not stand by and watch these changes happening. We want to be the one who takes the initiative in this transformation.
Honda has already teamed up with General Motors to develop electric vehicles at one of the company’s plants. This is one of many initiatives by Honda to reduce the use of its traditional do-it-yourself techniques to building vehicles. The CEO, who was appointed last year, said the company intends to stop manufacturing gasoline-engine vehicles by 2040.
The Honda CEO claims that the cars they make would not be Hondas. Mr. Mibe said:
It’s separate from Honda’s brand. Regardless of this joint venture, Honda will continue its own initiatives.” The CEO said that he was looking for the mingling of Sony and Honda engineers to develop new and innovative ideas for the car manufacturer’s main business.
Details of the deal
The companies’ presentation didn’t provide details on things like how many cars they’re hoping to sell, how much they’d cost, and what the cars would look like at the end of manufacturing. The Honda-Sony joint ventures will not build its own facilities but will instead outsource production to Honda.
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