It's official! Sony and Honda will have an electric car ready by 2026 under the Sony Honda Mobility brand

It’s been a few months in the making - publicly at least - but Sony Honda Mobility Inc. has finally been established as a company to build electric cars as a joint venture between, you guessed it, Sony and Honda.

Set to launch its first electric car in 2026, Sony Honda Mobility had been in the works for some time, and this year became formalised as the two companies declared a memorandum of understanding to establish the venture.

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Sony Honda Mobility is headquartered in Tokyo with the two companies each having an exact 50/50 split in investment, for a total startup capital of 10 billion yen (AUD$107,595,300).

Of course, the plan for the venture is to make use of the differing specialties of each company under one roof, as even rival companies begin to focus more on technology in transport than before.

Yasuhide Mizuno, representative director, chair of the board, and CEO of Sony Honda Mobility said the new company is in a unique position to lead the way for future mobility.

“We plan to fully leverage the technological assets the two companies possess in different fields, such as Sony's sensing technology and Honda's original mobility development capabilities, to realise mobility and services that inspire and excite our customers. By bringing together the expertise of both companies, we aim to lead the way in a new era."

The company has also reconfirmed its first product’s launch timeline, with an expected reveal in 2025 and deliveries to its initial markets of Japan and the US through 2026.

What’s yet to be confirmed is what the car will actually be, with Sony having previously revealed two concept models, called Vision-S 01 and Vision S-02.

Sony Vision-S 02 could be a glimpse at the first product from Sony Honda Mobility.

The Vision-S 01 is an electric sedan that was revealed in early 2020 and was built with the help of car component-makers Magna-Steyr, ZF, Bosch and Continental. Its main purpose was as a showcase of Sony’s sensor technology, which it hopes to use to advantage in the Sony Honda Mobility venture.

The Sony Vision-S 02, an SUV, came earlier this year and, while not directly related to the Honda partnership, is sure to have been built while discussions were underway between the two companies.

In terms of manufacturing for Sony Honda Mobility, a statement from Honda America executive vice president Bob Nelson overnight confirmed a USD$700 million (AUD$1.109 billion) investment in retooling its three Ohio plants to produce electric cars. In addition, USD$3.5 billion (AUD$5.547 billion) will go towards an Ohio EV battery plant.

For Australia, word from Honda’s local arm is scarce about timing and availability of electric cars in the near future. Speaking to CarsGuide earlier this year, outgoing Honda Australia boss Stephen Collins said we would likely have “a good menu of BEVs to bring to this market,” but wouldn’t confirm what they would be, or when they would arrive.