Sony pivots into cars with Sony Mobility and a Vision-S SUV prototype at CES 2022

During Sony’s keynote presentation at CES 2022, the company rolled out the Vision-S EV we saw last year, along with a new concept SUV dubbed Vision-S 02. But the big surprise (this time) is the launch of Sony Mobility, a new company that will focus on electric cars. While the tech industry has been speculating for several years on whether Apple might produce a vehicle, Sony already has a working prototype packed full of its technology, and now it’s going a step further.

Sony posted several demo videos on YouTube featuring both Vision-S prototype EVs. Some, like the two-minute Concept Movie above, give hints of the picture-perfect lifestyle these cars could enable. Others show off the design of the user interface or feature a test of remote driving via a 5G connection linking Tokyo and Germany in real-time.

We don’t know if this all leads to actually taking a Sony-brand car for a spin someday, but clearly, it has a vision for the autonomous, electric future that it’s pursuing. “We are exploring a commercial launch of Sony’s EV,” said Kenichiro Yoshida, the company’s chairman, president, and CEO. That exploration will apparently find out how a “creative entertainment company” can “redefine mobility.”

During last year’s reveal of the Vision-S, Sony talked a lot about its capabilities with sensors, and we’ll see how it uses that technological advantage in the car industry. In 2021, it already shared some pain with automakers in dealing with the chip shortage, whether it intends to join the party as a full-fledged competitor or some form of supplier or partner is what we, and possibly Sony, don’t know yet.