Remember Sony’s electric car? Well, the company is showing off another one at CES this week, as it gears up for a possible expansion into the electric vehicle market.
On Tuesday, Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida announced the plan, saying his company is “well positioned” to redefine the car experience. “This spring, we are establishing a new company, Sony Mobility Inc., to accelerate these efforts. And we are exploring a commercial launch of Sony’s EV,” he said during the company’s CES press conference.
The plan may sound a little bonkers since Sony is best known for producing video game consoles and electronics, not cars. However, the company says its camera sensors and home entertainment technologies are ideal for upgrading cars for the 21st century.
At CES 2020, the company demonstrated this by introducing the Vision-S, a concept electric vehicle outfitted with 33 sensors to power self-driving and safety features. The car’s interior also featured a large panoramic screen and speakers from Sony.
On Tuesday, Sony unveiled a follow-up in the Vision S-02, an SUV. It adopts the same technologies by incorporating 40 sensors and a large display panel. However, the SUV can carry an additional row of passengers and connects to the internet via 5G.
Still, there are lot of unknowns about the vehicles, like their cost and how far they can drive. But for over a year now, Sony has been testing the original Vision S-01 model—and its autonomous-driving capabilities—on public roads. In Europe, the company is working “toward the release of Level 2+ advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) on public roads,” it said in a press release, which means the driver still needs to monitor the vehicle while it's in self-driving modes.