When many think of electric cars, the first company that might jump to mind is Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc..

But some 30 or so years ago, when people were asked about what’s the best maker of televisions and high-tech gear, many would have said Sony Corp. Now, the famous marketing line “It’s a Sony” might one day apply to the vehicle you’re driving, as the renowned Japanese electronics company announced at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show today that it’s entering the electric vehicle market. Sony has established a subsidiary to build electric cars called Sony Mobility.

A company saying that it’s interested in building EVs is one thing — there are countless companies in mainland China that have said they’ve entered the market, even failed building developer China Evergrande Group. But Sony already has concept EVs.

Sony debuted an EV at CES last year, the Vision-S 0-1 electric sedan, but said at the time that it had no plans to sell the vehicle. Sony previously claimed that it only created the car to test autonomous driving technology. Forward to 2022, and Sony has shown the Vision-S 02 SUV that it actually could bring to market.

The vehicle can seat up to seven passengers and is described as similar to the Tesla Model Y. Notably, the driving wheel in the vehicle is on the left-hand side and not the right-hand side, suggesting that Sony has developed the vehicle with North America and Europe in mind, versus its home country of Japan.

Beauty is subjective, but arguably it is a good-looking car. Digital displays run right from the LHD steering wheel all the way to the right side of the vehicle’s dashboard.

The tech in the vehicle includes a wide variety of sensors, including CMOS image and lidar sensors for the car’s driver assistance system. The car is currently being tested in Europe and at the moment hits a Level 2+ driver assistance rating.

Other specs include time-of-flight sensors for driver authentication, according to Engadget, as well as support for intuitive gestures and voice commands.

If and when it may come to market is not clear. That Sony has established a standalone division to develop EVs is a sign that the company is serious about entering the market, but saying and doing are two entirely different things. The launch could be years away, but whatever the date, Sony never does anything in halves.

Photo: Sony