Sony Honda Mobility’s Afeela Prototype 2026 puts an SUV spin on its familiar sedan at CES
Last year in Las Vegas at CES 2025, Sony Honda Mobility showed another update of its now known but still unreleased Afeela 1 sedan. With a starting price of $89,900 and a maximum range of 300 miles, it didn’t seem like a great value proposition. 12 months later, the numbers haven’t changed, but potential buyers now have a longer option to consider.
Meet the Afeela Prototype 2026, an upgraded version of the Afeela 1 sedan to better suit American SUV conditions. It offers a carbon copy of Afeela’s minimalist styling, including an external LCD, mounted in the nose, and will be due in “2028.”
Afeela Prototype 2026 (Tim Stevens for Engadget)
That’s code for “2029 is very likely” and, sadly, that’s all we know about the thing for now.
And what about Afeela 1? Shugo Yamaguchi, president and CEO of Sony Honda Mobility of America, confirmed that it is on track to be released this year, will cost $90,000 to start, and will be built at Honda’s factory in Ohio. That last bit of news is great news, as the global tax landscape has been in flux since we saw the sedan last year.
Unfortunately, some of the key features of the Afeela 1 haven’t aged well, especially since it’s aimed at appealing to the increasingly skeptical American market, a situation that has led Honda to dial down their US EV ambitions. A 300-mile range is a growing number for a mid-range, especially for a mid-range spitting machine like the Porsche Taycan.
To make the Afeela 1 a compelling experience, Sony Honda Mobility relies on the technology game, introducing an advanced system to close the hands, eyes to the driver (a la GM’s Super Cruise). Thanks to the advantages of aerial updates, Afeela 1 will eventually provide Level 4 autonomy, relying on a bevy of integrated sensors, including a LIDAR pod mounted on the roof. That would mean you can drive in Gran Turismo 7 while your car is taking you to work.
Efela 1 (Tim Stevens for Engadget)
However, at launch, the driver will only be able to play GT and other PlayStation games while the car is parked, thanks to the built-in Remote Play functionality. Beyond gaming, Sony is building a comprehensive set of APIs that will enable third-party developers to create immersive cabin experiences, including custom gauge clusters and infotainment skins. All of that will be done on the Qualcomm Snapdragon Digital Chassis, which has enough power to handle the changing functions of security and infotainment.
That sounds great, but the bad news is that buyers will have to wait a little longer to start customizing their rides. Production on the Afeela 1 has slowed, and it won’t ship to the first customers until late 2026. Those customers will have to be in California, as that’s the only state where the sedan will be sold. Arizona is coming next, sometime in 2027, but no one at Sony Honda Mobility will say which state will get the next bite at the apple, or when.
Will it be worth the wait? We’ll be back later with more detailed reviews from inside this year’s Afeela 1.
