Manufacturer spotlight: AFEELA

When Tokyo Met Silicon Valley

In 2022, two of Japan’s most iconic corporations — Sony Group, the undisputed master of consumer entertainment, and Honda Motor Company, one of the world’s most respected automakers — announced a joint venture unlike anything the industry had seen. Their mission: to reimagine the automobile not as a machine that transports you, but as a space that engages you. The entity they formed was Sony Honda Mobility (SHM), and the car they promised was the Afeela 1.

What followed was four years of CES appearances, rising anticipation, and lofty promises. Sony Honda Mobility unveiled the production version at CES 2025, declaring that the Afeela 1 “pursues an interactive relationship between people and vehicles,” with deliveries to customers set to begin in mid-2026. 

Now, in 2026, that moment of reckoning has finally arrived. Trial production runs of the Afeela 1 have been conducted at Honda’s East Liberty Auto Plant in Ohio, pre-production vehicles were exhibited at CES 2026, and the company has opened “AFEELA Studio and Delivery Hubs” in Torrance and Fremont, California, combining showroom and delivery functions to provide a full brand experience. 

More than 100,000 people have visited Afeela showrooms and over 24,000 have experienced the car up close. The moment of truth is here. So — is the Afeela 1 a revolution, or a cautionary tale? The answer, as with most things in the EV world, is complicated.

2026 AFEELA LINEUP: TWO MODELS, ONE VISION

Afeela 1 Signature — $102,900 (Deliveries late 2026, California first)

Afeela 1 Origin — $89,900 (Deliveries 2027)

Afeela follows the well-worn luxury EV playbook of launching the most expensive, most fully featured trim first. The Signature arrives late 2026 with 21-inch wheels, a rear entertainment system with seatback screens, and the full suite of Afeela’s personalization features. The Origin, priced at $89,900, will follow in 2027. 

First deliveries will be limited to California. Arizona deliveries begin in 2027, with Japan following the same year. It could be years more before the Afeela 1 is available nationwide. 

Both trims are built on the same mechanical and technological platform. Every Afeela 1 includes a three-year complimentary subscription to select features, including Afeela Intelligent Drive, Afeela Personal Agent, and entertainment content. 

POWERTRAIN & PERFORMANCE: CAPABLE BUT NOT CLASS-LEADING

The Afeela 1 delivers solid performance with dual motors one per axle, each producing 241 hp for a combined output of 482 hp and all-wheel drive as standard.  The air suspension is standard across all trims, with staggered-width tires on 21-inch alloy wheels. 

Under the body, every Afeela 1 rides on an unequal-length control arm front suspension and a multilink rear arrangement, paired with those standard air springs. 

The 0–60 mph time is estimated at around 4.8 seconds respectable, but not electrifying for this price tier. The Afeela 1 is fed by a 91 kWh battery, delivering an estimated 300 miles of EPA range. 

On charging, the picture dims. The Afeela 1 supports DC fast charging at a peak rate of 150 kW. For comparison, the Lucid Air can charge at over 300 kW, significantly reducing downtime during long trips. Even the Model S has offered 250 kW charging capability since 2020.  The onboard AC charging maxes out at 11 kW. However, Afeela gains access to 27,500+ NACS Superchargers across the United States , which partially offsets the lower peak charging rate in practical daily use.

MINIMALISM WITH A TWIST

Exterior: Clean Lines and a Cyberpunk Party Trick

The Afeela 1’s exterior is polarizing — and deliberately so. The design emphasizes smooth, seamless lines and an elegant sculptural form, with handleless doors that open automatically as you approach, using smartphone integration for a clean, minimalist look. Soft lighting and a welcoming sound greet you upon approach, creating an immersive experience from the moment you arrive. 

The color palette is famously restrained. Afeela will only offer three color options: Tidal Gray, Calm White, and Core Black. The base Origin trim is available in any color — inside and out — as long as it’s black. 

But the Afeela’s most distinctive exterior feature is one that no other production car has ever offered at scale: the Media Bar. A 31.5-inch Micro LED display is positioned externally between the headlights, supplied by AUO, which Sony Honda Mobility refers to as the Media Bar. It is crafted from Micro LED technology chosen for its high brightness, strong resistance to shock and vibration, and durability in extreme weather conditions. 

The Media Bar is designed to provide surrounding users with real-time weather, traffic, sports results, and trending information for the current location.  Owners can express their personality through the Media Bar with theme stickers, custom text, and emojis.  Future utility includes Vehicle-to-Pedestrian communication — it could flash “I See You” to a pedestrian at a crosswalk or display ride-share usernames, transforming the car’s exterior into a programmable canvas. 

The one meaningful exterior update at CES 2026 was that the unfortunate seam running down the middle of last year’s nose-mounted Media Bar has been fixed — it now appears to be a single, contiguous panel.  Small victories.

Size & Cargo

Behind the rear seats sits 27 cubic feet of cargo room, accessed via a kick-sensor-activated hatchback. The Signature trim comes with two 12.9-inch seatback screens for rear passengers

THE TECHNOLOGY STACK: WHERE AFEELA TRULY SHINES

This is the heart of the Afeela proposition, and it is genuinely extraordinary — if you value software, entertainment, and digital intelligence over raw performance metrics.

The Digital Cockpit

The surrounding environment and driving conditions constantly monitored by the Afeela 1 are visualized as ADAS views and maps on the display using Unreal Engine, providing the driver with a safe and secure driving experience. 

A key differentiator is the integration of Epic Games’ Unreal Engine to power the car’s human-machine interface (HMI), promising rich, real-time 3D graphics and a highly intuitive user experience. The car is designed as a “moving entertainment space,” leveraging Sony’s vast ecosystem of movies, music, and games. The interior is dominated by a panoramic screen that spans the entire dashboard, creating an immersive environment for all occupants. 

The UI isn’t built on a boring, proprietary automotive OS. Sony partnered with Epic Games to build the entire interface using Unreal Engine 5.3. When it rains outside, the 3D map on your dashboard reflects the rain. Lighting effects are dynamic. The navigation doesn’t look like Google Maps — it looks like an Open World RPG. 

The PlayStation Connection

Perhaps the most headline-grabbing feature is the inclusion of PlayStation Remote Play, allowing passengers to stream games from their PS5 console directly to the car’s screens. 

The car’s internal hardware, powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon Ride Flex SoCs, has graphical horsepower to rival a home console. DualSense controllers are natively supported. When parked to charge, the panoramic screen becomes a massive ultrawide monitor for everyone. 

The Sensor Suite & Autonomous Driving

The Afeela 1 is anticipated to be equipped with a total of 40 sensors, including 18 cameras, 1 LiDAR, 9 radars, and 12 ultrasonic sensors both inside and outside the vehicle. 

By leveraging an ECU with computing power of up to 800 TOPS and AI technology, it provides advanced driver assistance across all stages of Perception, Prediction, and Planning. From the departure point to parking at the destination, it reduces the driver’s burden with an end-to-end route. 

SHM aims to develop Level 3 automated driving under limited conditions and to enable Level 2+ driver assistance in even more situations such as urban driving.  Level 3 means the car can handle the driving entirely under supervised conditions — a meaningful step beyond what Tesla’s FSD or Cadillac’s Super Cruise currently offer commercially.

The AI Personal Agent

The AFEELA Personal Agent, powered by Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, makes it possible to deliver natural language, personalized, and tailored experiences to users. A new “Co-Creation Program” will allow collaborations with creators and developers to create new in-vehicle entertainment solutions, apps, and themes for the EVs. 

The AI voice assistant provides advanced routing guidance like telling you which of the dozen taquerias on your route has the best guac. Personalization is a big part of the sales pitch, with downloadable packages changing everything from the car’s ambient lights to the gauge cluster, engine sound, and even whatever’s displayed on the nose-mounted Media Bar. 

Audio: Sony’s Greatest Weapon

Image credit: bestofhighend.com

Sony’s 360 Spatial Sound Technologies offer a high-quality audio experience with immersive sound. The cabin features a unique sound system and displays optimally placed for each seat, allowing occupants to enjoy a variety of apps and entertainment content.  Sony Honda Mobility’s proprietary noise-canceling technology provides an overwhelming sense of quietness.  Given Sony’s decades of dominance in headphones and professional audio, this may genuinely be the best in-car sound system ever deployed in a production vehicle.

Entertainment partnerships include Spotify, Amazon Music, Audible, Dolby Atmos, and Polyphony Digital the studio behind Gran Turismo. The Afeela 1 also features as a drivable vehicle in Gran Turismo 7.

A GLIMPSE OF WHAT’S NEXT

At CES 2026, Sony Honda Mobility world-premiered the AFEELA Prototype 2026 a coupe-like electric crossover that builds on the core concept of the Afeela 1 while offering greater spatial flexibility and accessibility, aiming to deliver joy and value to a broader range of users. A production model based on this prototype is planned for launch in the U.S. market as early as 2028. 

The crossover prototype adopts the same simple look as the Afeela 1 sedan, with little to no flourishes. It sits higher, offering more space than the sedan, and the company plans to develop a production model for the United States market as early as 2028.  The two vehicles share a common mechanical platform and clearly draw from the same design playbook broad LED light strips front and rear, a display panel built into the front fascia, and smooth, bi-tone bodywork. 

Pricing for the crossover remains unconfirmed, but the closely related sedan’s pricing structure suggests it will occupy a similar luxury tier.

HOW THE AFEELA STACKS UP: COMPETITOR BY COMPETITOR

Afeela 1 vs. Tesla Model S: Tech King vs. Establishment

A Tesla Model S Plaid with a starting price similar to the Afeela 1 has a 1,020-hp tri-motor powertrain that will rocket the car to 60 mph in less than 2 seconds and deliver 348 miles of driving range.  Even the base Model S All-Wheel Drive trounces the Afeela on performance. The Model S has the Afeela beat by 187 hp and charges at up to 250 kW versus Afeela’s 150 kW. 

Tesla counters with FSD, one of the most mature and widely deployed driver-assistance systems in the world, and an infotainment ecosystem that has been refined over a decade. The Afeela counters with something Tesla can never offer: Sony’s entertainment empire, Epic Games’ Unreal Engine visuals, PlayStation integration, and a sensor suite that includes LiDAR which Tesla has famously refused to adopt.

Verdict: For pure performance and an established autonomous driving ecosystem, the Model S wins. For in-cabin technology that no other automaker on earth can match, the Afeela 1 stands alone.

Afeela 1 vs. Lucid Air: The Range Problem

This matchup exposes the Afeela’s most painful weakness with unambiguous clarity. The Lucid Air Pure boasts 420 miles of range compared to the Afeela’s approximately 300 miles a gap that also persists even against the least efficient Lucid trims. 

On charging, the gap is equally stark. The Lucid Air’s peak DC charging rate is double that of the Afeela 1, and its max AC charging rate is 19.2 kW versus the Afeela’s 11 kW. Combine that with its smaller battery, and Lucid owners spend significantly less time plugged in. 

The comparably priced Lucid Air Touring packs a 620-hp all-wheel-drive powertrain and more than 400 miles of range making it a dramatically more capable machine on traditional EV metrics. But the Lucid Air’s cabin, while beautiful, cannot match the sheer breadth and depth of Sony’s entertainment ecosystem or the Unreal Engine-powered interface.

Verdict: If you want the best-in-class electric drivetrain in a luxury sedan, the Lucid Air is the rational choice. If you want a car that functions as a private cinema, gaming hub, and AI-powered digital concierge, there is no comparison.

Afeela 1 vs. Porsche Taycan & BMW i7: The European Standard

Both the Porsche Taycan and BMW i7 represent traditional European approaches to luxury EV performance superb driving dynamics, conservative but premium interiors, and proven build quality from brands with decades of luxury credentials. The Taycan starts around $95,000 and offers world-class handling, 800V architecture enabling blazing-fast charging, and genuine sports car DNA. The BMW i7 offers pillar-to-pillar rear-seat entertainment that is arguably the closest thing in any rival to Afeela’s cinematic ambitions.

With even established luxury brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz shifting their focus to more affordable EVs, a $90,000 sedan with specs that sounded exciting in 2020 makes it harder to stay excited.  But neither Porsche nor BMW can offer an integrated PlayStation ecosystem, an exterior Micro LED Media Bar, or a car whose entire interface runs on Unreal Engine 5.

AFEELA model pricing

VISIONARY TIMING, IMPERFECT EXECUTION

The Afeela 1 is a vehicle that was designed in one era and is being delivered in another — and the industry has moved faster than expected.

When Afeela was announced, it had the makings of a game-changing product. Unfortunately, it looks like Afeela will arrive two years too late, ready to disrupt a market that has already moved on with features that can be found in a handful of competitors in one form or another. 

The Afeela 1 was an audacious product when it was announced at CES 2020, but with each subsequent year it feels more and more out of touch on traditional specs. 

That criticism is fair, but it misses something important. The Afeela 1 is not trying to win on range, charging speed, or horsepower. It is making a fundamentally different bet: that the future of automotive luxury is not in the drivetrain but in the experience that as autonomous driving matures and the driver becomes increasingly a passenger, the battlefield will shift from 0–60 times to what happens inside the cabin during those hours of travel time.

In a world where autonomous driving is the goal, the driver eventually becomes a passenger. Sony is pre-positioning the Afeela to dominate the attention economy of that future. 

Honda’s role cannot be overstated. While Sony grabs the headlines, Honda’s multi-link suspension and proven chassis architecture ensure the car drives like a Honda competent, safe, and reliable. This hybrid DNA attempts to solve the biggest weakness of new EV players: build quality. 

The Afeela 1 is imperfect, arguably overpriced for its raw specs, and arriving later than promised into a market that has grown more competitive with every passing year. But it is also genuinely unlike anything else on the road. It is one of the most technologically ambitious electric sedans yet, blending Sony’s entertainment ecosystem with Honda’s engineering expertise. 

Whether that is enough to justify nearly $90,000 or to build the foundation for Afeela’s long-term future is a question that California’s early adopters will soon begin to answer.

VERDICT

For European luxury refinement, German precision, and driver-focused performance, Porsche and BMW remain superior. For sheer technological novelty and entertainment-forward design, the Afeela 1 is in a class of its own.