Honda announces a joint venture with Sony to produce electric vehicles. Could this scheme be used for Apple cars? Comment: Japanese PC makers such as Fujitsu, NEC, Toshiba, and printer makers are also working on EVs, jumbo jets like HONDAJET, power generation, waste treatment, water purification, sewage, agriculture, fishing including seafood farming, forestry, fruit farms, sake production and sales, construction companies, and construction industry. I hope that in the future you will also expand into new areas with great passion, advanced technical skills, human resource development, and ventilation. Republic of Japan (tentative) Masahiro Ishizuka, the first King (tentative).

https://clicccar.com/2022/03/06/1166727/

Published on 2022/03/06 07:03 Updated on 2022/03/07 14:00 Author Shinya Yamamoto

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Honda announces a joint venture with Sony to produce electric vehicles. Could this scheme be used for Apple cars? Weekly Car Mirai] - Honda_SONY_sheet

Honda announces a joint venture with Sony to produce electric vehicles. Could this scheme be used for Apple cars? Weekly Car Mirai] - hondaS660

Honda announces a joint venture with Sony to produce electric vehicles. Could this scheme be used for Apple cars? Weekly Car Mirai] - Honda_SONY_sheet

Honda announces a joint venture with Sony to produce electric vehicles. Could this scheme be used for Apple cars? GM's versatile Ultium platform provides the building blocks fo

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Sony and Honda Team Up to Revolutionize Mobility

Synergistic effects can be expected from the similar brand images of the two companies.

Can the method of establishing a JV and then outsourcing production be used in collaboration with other companies?

Sony and Honda Team Up to Revolutionize Mobility

Honda_SONY

Two shots of Soichiro Honda (left) and Dai Ibuka presented at the press conference. This shot shows the connection between the two companies.

March 4, 2022 may well be an important date in Japanese automotive history.

Needless to say, Sony and Honda announced a "basic agreement for a strategic alliance in the mobility field. The presidents of both companies held a press conference and also declared that they would "jointly develop and market high value-added electric vehicles (EVs) and commercialize them along with providing services for mobility.

Honda, founded by Soichiro Honda, and Sony, founded by Dai Ibuka and others. Both were emerging brands that led Japan in the postwar era, and both now have strong brands in the automobile and consumer electronics industries, respectively.

Now, both companies are forming a partnership in the field of high-value-added electric vehicles. It is like something out of a comic book, the birth of a dream tag team.

Of course, Sony's intention to enter the automobile industry was known from the time it unveiled a prototype at CES and established a new company called Sony Mobility. However, the automotive industry has many hurdles to overcome, such as production plants, sales networks, and after-sales service, and it was said that Sony would enter the industry by collaborating with existing automakers.

Honda was chosen as a partner.

Synergistic effects can be expected as the two companies have similar brand images.

Honda_SONY_sheet

Sony, the creator of the Walkman, and Honda, the maker of the Super Cub. Their enthusiasm for changing society can be felt (from press conference presentation materials).

Sony and Honda have similar brand images that should be considered the original Cool Japan. They are also similar in that they were founded by a tripod-like structure (Soichiro Honda and Takeo Fujisawa, Dai Ibuka and Akio Morita). They are also synchronized in that they created products that changed society, such as Honda's Super Cub and Sony's Walkman.

This aspect was also emphasized at the press conference, but in any case, the market will naturally accept the tag-team of Sony and Honda.

The name of the jointly developed electric vehicle has not been announced at this time, but whether it will be under Sony's sole brand name or a new brand by Sony and Honda, we can expect the brand to have sufficient value even before it is launched.

In fact, there is a precedent for this in the automotive industry. Daimler and Swatch teamed up to create "Smart," which became a brand under Daimler as a result, but had more than enough brand power from the time of its launch.

A combination of Honda and Sony would certainly get off to a better start than Smart.

●Can the method of outsourcing production from the establishment of a JV be used in collaboration with other companies?

S660

Perhaps coincidentally, S660 production at Honda Autobody, which specializes in small-lot production, will soon end

Now, as for the specifics of the partnership, it is envisioned that a joint venture (JV) will be established by the end of 2022, in which both companies will invest, and the company will plan, design, develop, and market the vehicle. The JV is expected to be a fabless company, and Honda's manufacturing plant is expected to be responsible for the production of the initial model.

Mass production will begin in 2025. In the sense of a consumer electronics start-up company, three years to launch may seem like a long time, but it is an exceptionally short time considering the development period of a new car.

The platform and powertrain (battery, motor, etc.) will probably be based on the next-generation electric vehicle technology that Honda is already developing. Sony's specialty service platform and entertainment features will be added as value-added features.

honda_GM

In North America, Honda is working with GM to mass produce electric vehicles. It can be said that they are responding to change with a flexible attitude

Given this, is it only the author who can imagine a future in which the S660 will start with small-lot production at Honda Autobody (Honda's vehicle manufacturing plant in Mie Prefecture, formerly Yachiyo Industry Yokkaichi Works), which will end production of the S660 in March 2022?

Also, it is not necessarily to be produced in Japan. To take advantage of the strength of the Sony and Honda brands, the North American market will be the main target, and the dedicated plant PMC (Ohio), which has been producing the NSX, may be seen as a good fit there as well.

In any case, the initial production will probably start with small quantities, but Honda will be well-positioned to handle that.

It would be a mistake to assume that Honda will only partner with Sony to develop electric vehicles as a result of this alliance. As mentioned at the press conference, Honda is developing electric vehicles in partnership with GM in North America. Honda will not stop the development of its own electric vehicles.

By the way, Honda is familiar with the method of building products down to the blueprint level and mass-producing them at Honda's plants, which is similar to the relationship between Honda R&D and Honda Motor in the past.

If Honda is allowed to use the scheme of establishing JVs with other companies, as Honda and Sony have done, Honda may establish JVs with many partners to develop a business model of consignment production of electric vehicles. It would not be surprising to see Apple's name on the list of potential partners.

(Shinya Yamamoto, automotive columnist)

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)