Sony Honda Mobility announced on Mar 25, 2026 that it would discontinue development and launch of AFEELA 1 and a second model

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, from public records. Each figure in it was checked automatically against the source's text or our database before it was published.

On Mar 25, 2026, Sony Honda Mobility (SHM), a joint venture of Sony Group and Honda Motor, announced that it had decided to discontinue the development and launch of its first model, AFEELA 1, and of a second AFEELA-branded vehicle that was in development. Sony reported the decision to US regulators on a Form 6-K, the report that a foreign private issuer files with the Securities and Exchange Commission.1^,2^,3^,4

SHM said Honda's reassessment of its automobile electrification strategy, announced on Mar 12, 2026, meant it would not be able to use certain technologies and assets that were originally planned to come from Honda. SHM concluded that it had no viable path forward to bring the models to market as originally planned. It said it would issue full refunds of the reservation fees to current holders of reservations for AFEELA 1 in California.5^,6^,7

Sony said it accounted for SHM under the equity method and recorded its 50% share of SHM's net income after taxes as operating income in All Other within its consolidated results. Sony said it was still evaluating the effect of the discontinuation on its results and financial position for the fiscal years ending March 2026 and 2027. It added that SHM had been run on an asset-light approach and that it believed the effect would not be material.8^,9^,10

Since its establishment in September 2022, SHM had aimed to develop and sell mobility products and provide mobility-related services by combining Sony's and Honda's technologies, expertise and development capabilities. Sony, Honda and SHM said they would keep discussing and evaluating SHM's future, and intended to announce its direction jointly at the earliest possible opportunity.11^,12

The filer, Sony Group, is also the parent of Sony Interactive Entertainment, which publishes titles including God of War Ragnarök and Helldivers 2.13^,14