Sony, Honda to Team Up in Developing, Selling Electric Vehicles

Sony said in January that it would create a car unit and explore entering the EV market.

Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Honda HMC -2.63% Motor Co. and Sony SONY -1.48% Group Corp. said Friday they intend to jointly develop and sell electric vehicles, bringing together two of Japan’s biggest names in a field where the country has lagged behind.

Honda and Sony said they aimed to set up a joint venture this year and begin selling their jointly developed electric vehicles in 2025.

The joint venture won’t own its own auto factories, but instead outsource manufacturing to Honda, the companies said. Sony will supply expertise in sensing, communication and entertainment, they said.

Sony said in January that it would create a car unit and explore entering the electric-vehicle market. Japan’s leading auto makers, including Honda and Toyota Motor Corp. , have fallen behind rivals such as Tesla Inc. TSLA -4.61% in the race to sell EVs.

In 2021, Covid-19 still cast uncertainty over the future of travel, Rivian and Lucid shook up the auto industry, and Branson, Bezos and Musk launched their space tourism programs. But what does 2022 have in store? WSJ’s George Downs takes a look.

Write to Kosaku Narioka at [email protected]