Honda’s dealerships in the United States likely won’t be involved in selling the electric vehicles produced through the Honda-Sony partnership.
Soon after the collaboration between the two industry juggernauts was announced, U.S. dealerships raised questions about how they would be involved in the process. While speaking during the company’s third-quarter financial results announcement, Honda chief financial officer Kohei Takeuchi noted a new sales model will be adopted, meaning dealers may only be able to service the new EVs, Auto News notes.
“It will be something unconventional, not Sony, not Honda, but something new,” Takeuchi said of the sales process.
Read: Sony And Honda To Debut Their First EV In 2026 In North America And Japan, Tease New Model For CES
Honda is expected to pursue an online approach to selling the EVs it produces with Sony. Takeuchi noted that the U.S. network of more than 1,000 dealers are well suited to servicing these vehicles.
Sony Honda Mobility Inc plans to build its first model at a plant in the United States with a goal of production commencing in 2026. While details about this first model are limited, Sony is expected to handle the in-car entertainment, cloud-based software, and the sensors required for autonomous driving. The vehicle will be capable of Level 2+ autonomy in most situations and Level 3 autonomy in certain scenarios.
While the partnership between the two companies is still in its infancy, Sony Honda Mobility will showcase a new concept car at CES 2023 that’s kicking off on January 4. This vehicle will follow in the footsteps of Sony’s Vision-S 01 sedan and Vision-S 02 SUV that debuted in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
Pre-orders for the new electric vehicle are expected to open in the first half of 2025 before sales commence before the end of that year. Deliveries should then begin in the spring of 2026 in the United States and in the second half of 2026 in Japan.
