The Sony–Honda joint venture electric vehicle (EV) brand, Afeela, has unveiled what appears to be its second prototype at the ongoing CES 2026 show, called simply the Afeela Prototype 2026. Naming creativity aside, the new prototype hints at the two Japanese giants’ aspirations to press further into the upper-end EV segment with a more versatile offering – although it’s not exactly an SUV either.
In a press release, Sony Honda Mobility (SHM) says the Afeela Prototype 2026 “builds on the core concept of the Afeela 1”, namely Autonomy, Augmentation, and Affinity. Make of that what you will, the new prototype carries over much of its design language from the Afeela 1, albeit with revised proportions.
Compared to the Afeela 1, the new Prototype sits taller, allowing for more pronounced wheel arches and sharper side creases that lend it a slightly more utilitarian appearance. Up front, the black lip has been repositioned lower on the bumper, subtly altering the car’s face. Combined with the increased ride height and otherwise minimalist surfacing, these changes give the Prototype a more rounded, crossover-like stance, similar to the Toyota Crown in its crossover form.
The Prototype also appears to carry over the same extensive sensor array as the Afeela 1, mounted above the windscreen, to enable a highly automated driving experience. In the Afeela 1, the system includes up to 40 components, such as cameras, LiDAR, radar sensors, and ultrasonic sensors, all managed by a Qualcomm computer with 800 TOPS of processing power. For now, the car supports Level 2+ advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), with SHM targeting Level 4–equivalent capabilities in the future.
Planned for launch in the US market as early as 2028, SHM says the new Prototype will offer “greater spatial flexibility and accessibility”, thus opening up the brand to a wider audience.
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Alongside the Prototype, SHM also showcased its first model, the Afeela 1, in pre-production form for the first time. First unveiled publicly at CES last year, the company reaffirmed that US deliveries are scheduled to begin in the second half of 2026. Initially, the Afeela 1 will be limited to California for now, with Afeela Studio and delivery hubs set to expand to Arizona in 2027, followed by Japan in the first half of the same year.
SHM has yet to reveal pricing for the Prototype, but it is expected to follow in the footsteps of the company’s first model by positioning itself in the luxury EV segment. For context, the Afeela 1 is priced from USD89,990 (approx. RM365k) for the base Origin variant and rises to USD102,900 (approx. RM417k) for the flagship Signature variant.
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