Sony and Honda will collaborate on a joint venture, producing and selling electric vehicles come 2025.
Sony Honda Mobility will utilise the strengths of each company, with Honda bringing its expertise in producing and selling cars, and Sony its software and technology know-how.
Each company will invest ¥5 billion ($58.38 million NZD) into the venture, with Yasuhide Mizuno, a senior Honda executive, serving as chairman and CEO, and Izumi Kawanishi, an executive vice president at Sony, the president and chief operating officer.
Honda has been slow to the game when it comes to the move to electric vehicles and is under pressure from investors to make cars that are both carbon-free, and full of new technology. As it stands, the automaker currently offers just one EV, the Honda e, but says it plans to bring 30 EV models to its lineup and aims to be producing 2 million EVs annually by 2030.
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Shares in Honda, amongst other Japanese car brands, were down between 3 percent and 5 percent last week, as global stocks were set to slide amid fears that sharp interest rate increases by central banks would tip economies into recession.
The automaker is also currently facing crimped margins with the cost of raw materials surging and a global chip shortage delaying production.
Earlier this year, Honda said it would develop a series of affordable EVs in partnership with GM, based on a new joint platform. The plan is for GM to build two electric SUVs GM for Honda in 2024, and then expand from there.