Following Honda’s decision to cancel the 0 Series of EVs in a bid to reduce its first reported annual loss in nearly 70 years, it appears the Afeela sub-brand is next on the chopping block. The Sony-Honda joint venture (SHM) has officially announced that both the production-bound Afeela 1 and the Afeela 2, which were still in development, have been cancelled due to waning global demand for EVs.
The decision is a major setback because the Afeela 1 was scheduled for deliveries to start in late 2026, while the Afeela 2 was still a prototype showcased at CES 2026; its fate was sealed once SHM admitted it could no longer provide the underlying technologies and assets required to build either car.
This means buyers who placed a booking for the Afeela 1, which was available in two variants priced from USD89,900 (approx. RM359k) to USD 102,900 (approx. RM411k), will now be receiving full refunds for their reservation fees.
Despite axing its first production model, Sony Honda Mobility isn’t quite ready to turn out the lights just yet. The joint venture stated it will stay in business to ‘evaluate’ its future, taking the current EV market slump into account. Essentially, the two giants are headed back to the drawing board to figure out if there is still a point to their partnership.
The timing could not have been more awkward; the announcement came just four days after the brand held a grand opening for its ‘AFEELA Studio’ and delivery hub in Torrance, California. Executives intend to announce a new direction soon, but for now, the brand is effectively a car company with a brand-new showroom and no cars to sell.
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Had the Afeela 1 entered production, it would have been equipped with an all-wheel drive setup that produces 482 hp and has a range of 483 km from its 91 kWh battery.
The car’s powertrain was tasked with moving occupants in an interior loaded with technology, featuring proprietary noise-cancelling tech paired with Sony’s 360 spatial surround sound. It boasted pillar-to-pillar digital displays and rear screens supporting PlayStation 5 remote play, but all of these high-tech toys have been consigned to the shelf for now.
Ultimately, this cancellation underscores the brutal reality of the modern automotive landscape. Despite electric vehicles being mechanically simpler than traditional internal combustion cars, the costs of development remain astronomical.
This, paired with Honda’s struggle to maintain competitiveness on the software front, which is now front and centre of the EV experience, has proven to be a billion-dollar hurdle. Even with Sony’s expertise, it seems the digital front and the waning demand for EVs were simply too big a gamble for Honda to carry through its current financial storm.
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