Sony to rival Tesla Model Y and Honda Civic-inspired Model 2 in the US as 'PlayStation' sedan takes on Model 3 Performance first

During the CES 2024 expo last month, the head of the Sony Honda Mobility EV partnership called its first electric car on stage with the help of a PlayStation 5 DualSense controller. The stunt aimed to showcase some of the added value that the "PlayStation" EV will bring to customers under the Sony-Honda joint venture's Afeela brand.

It's precisely this performance electric sedan that Sony plans to bring to the US market next year, undercutting the Tesla Model S by about ten grand and slotting somewhere in the rumored 2024 Model 3 Performance price category. Not only that, but it is allegedly planning to launch direct Tesla Model Y and even Model 2 competitors in the US. Sony's electric SUV should be arriving in 2027, while the affordable mass market compact EV is where Honda will have more input, including part sharing with its standalone models.

After all, Tesla's engineers reportedly took apart a Honda Civic to learn how to approach its Project Redwood undertaking for crafting a cheap mass market electric car, tentatively called the Model 2. Tesla has largely finished the development phase of the Model 2 and is now at the mass production planning stage with Elon Musk teasing a "revolution" in low-cost manufacturing.

If Sony and Honda want to be successful in the US, they'll have to not only bring Model Y and Model 3 competitors to market, but also have an answer to the mass market Model 2. The cheap compact will probably again be sold under the Afeela brand, but it is expected to launch last, in 2028 when the Model 2 would have already been on the market for 2 years or so.

Mum's the word on the Sony-Honda Model 2 rival's pricing, but it will reportedly be similar in size to a VW Golf hatch or a Toyota Corolla. It remains to be seen if Honda will also give it electrified Civic design vibes. 

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