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Sony, Honda Sign Joint Venture to Sell Electric Cars by 2025

On Thursday, Japan’s Sony and Honda formally agreed to form an equally owned joint venture that will begin selling electric vehicles in 2025.


Like bigger rival Toyota, Honda has been slower than global automakers to switch to electric vehicles (EVs) and faces pressure from investors to build carbon-free cars using new technologies such as self-driving.


The automaker, which offers just one electric vehicle, the Honda e, said it plans to launch 30 electric vehicles by 2030 and produce about 2 million electric vehicles annually.


The companies said in a statement on Thursday that the first would be announced in March. In a joint venture called Sony Honda Mobility, Honda would bring its expertise in car manufacturing, and sales and Sony would add its software and technology chops.


Each company will invest ¥5 billion ($37.52 million) in the joint venture. Honda executive Yasushi Mizuno will serve as Chairman and CEO of the joint venture, and Izumi Kawanishi, executive VP of Sony, will serve as president and chief operating officer.


Honda, the maker of popular models such as the Accord and Civic, is dealing with shrinking profit margins as soaring raw material costs and a global chip crunch hit production.


Earlier this year, the company said it would develop a line of low-cost electric vehicles with GM based on a new joint platform, expanding GM’s plan to build two electric SUVs for Honda starting in 2024.


Shares in Honda and other Japanese automakers fell 3% to 5% on Friday, as global stocks fell on fears that sharp central bank rate hikes would tip the economy into recession.

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