An unlikely candidate has immersed itself in the electric vehicle industry. Two years ago, Sony, the company known for electronics such as cameras, televisions and headphones, announced its Vision-S concept electric vehicle design at the CES tech show in Las Vegas.
It’s still not out, but Sony recently announced at CES it will launch a new company called Sony Mobility Inc. A press release on Sony’s website claims the new subsidiary will help Sony “explore entry into the EV market.”
This exploration includes a potential commercial launch of a second Sony EV. This second electric vehicle, named the Vision-S 02, is a seven-seat SUV. It appeared at this year’s CES next to Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida and the original sedan from 2020. The interior features a panoramic dash screen for data, controls and entertainment and 360-degree surround sound.
Expanding on the entertainment aspect, new gaming capabilities involve playing PlayStation games through a remote connection to a console at home. Streaming games can also be played through the cloud. Gaming can be done on the front panoramic screen or the rear-seat displays. In the safety area, sensors were installed 360 degrees around the vehicle. The sensors include CMOS image and LiDAR sensors that can monitor three-dimensional space to assist a driver in judging surrounding environments.
When exactly a Sony EV will be available for purchase, no one seems to know. However, public road testing in Europe for the original Vision-S began in December of 2020 and 5G driving tests took place in April 2021.
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