Sony Vision-S 02 SUV shows technology firm is serious about becoming a car manufacturer
Electric SUV has seven seats and impressive on-board technology.
Sony has revealed the Vision-S 02, its second vehicle concept, and has shown that it is serious about entering the automotive space.
The Vision-S 02 is a seven-seat SUV and follows on from the sleek Vision-S 01 saloon revealed last year.
Both cars are designed to showcase Sony’s move towards providing technology solutions for automotive manufacturers, but now the company has launched a new company called Sony Mobility ‘through which the company intends to explore entry into the EV market’.
Sony adds that this will ‘further accelerate and make new proposals that further evolve the mobility experience’.
Whether we’ll see Sony-branded cars available for the public to buy one day isn’t yet clear, but the move shows Sony is committed to entering the automotive scene. Its prototypes are not simply for show as they have been undergoing on-road testing.
Furthermore, Sony worked with Magna Steyr, an Austrian car manufacturer, on the first prototype. The company was contracted to build the I-Pace EV for Jaguar, which could hint at how Sony might enter the car market in the future.
Interestingly, car magazine Auto Express points out that Magna Steyr announced last year that it had developed a new electric powertrain called EtelligentReach, set to feature on ‘a new entrant vehicle’.
The Vision-S 02 prototype uses the same platform as the 01, meaning it likely shares performance figures of 536bhp and a 0-60mph time of less than five seconds and a top speed above 112mph.
It has sensors around the vehicle including cameras and radar that can help with autonomous driving systems. Sony says it is working towards functional verification tests in Europe for its Level 2-plus driver assistance systems.
