Sony Afeela at CES 2026: Live updates from the Sony Honda Mobility press conference
The newest version of the Afeela 1 will be showcased, along with a brand-new concept model.
Sony's CES 2026 press conference is imminent, and this year comes with a twist: Rather than an overview of Sony's electronics, video game and Hollywood studio plans for the new year, the presser will have a more narrow focus: electric vehicles. Sound odd? That's because the traditional end-of-press-day slot isn't just Sony, but rather Sony Honda Mobility — the joint venture responsible for the Afeela 1 electric car that has been showcased at CES for the better part of a decade. But this year, we'll get to see an all-new concept model at the event.
How to watch the Sony Afeela CES 2026 press conference
The event will be streamed live from Las Vegas on Monday, January 5 at 8PM ET via the Afeela official YouTube channel, which we've embedded below.
Engadget will also be liveblogging the event here.
50 Updates
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And that's it. We're going to get a closer look and more info later tonight, so expect more on Afeela from Engadget soon.
Also, stay tuned for live coverage of AMD at 6:30PM PT.
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The Afeela Prototype 2026 (catchy name) looks pretty similar to the Afeela 1. Mizuno says the finished product will make it to US customers as soon as 2028. But so far, details are scarce about how the new vehicle is different.
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Sony Honda Mobility Afeela Press Conference at CES 2026
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He says the company is already working on its next concept, and it's rolling out on stage now. I was wrong about the dramatic entrance!
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CEO of Sony Honda Mobility Yasuhide Mizuno is on stage to talk production, telling us the car on stage was actually built on the production line. Deliveries in California will start this year, and the company plans to begin them in Japan next year.
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Sony Honda Mobility Afeela Press Conference at CES 2026
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Afeela options are expanding to Arizona in 2027, J says.
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There are four Afeela studios for people to check out the car, all in California. And there two delivery hubs ready to spring into action this... well, spring.
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We're now getting a hype-y marketing video with clips from all of the events the company has hosted.
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Sony Honda Mobility Afeela Press Conference at CES 2026
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This really seems like they're trying to convince us people are interested, but there's not really super concrete evidence that the interest is translating to sales — or rather, preorders.
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Now we're going to get a status update on Afeela 1 in the US from J Thongnop, the senior director of marketing in North America. He's talking about visitor and demo numbers, but not preorders... yet.
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Sony Honda Mobility Afeela Press Conference at CES 2026
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Kawanishi returns. He's giving a bit more info on the Co-Creation Program, running down OS and other software possibilities for developers. This includes an On-Chain Mobility Service Platform.
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Ida says Afeela provides a new listening room for an authentic Japanese sound experience, and drivers and passengers are her new audience.
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Sony Honda Mobility Afeela Press Conference at CES 2026
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Ngl, this is hot.
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Tomoko Ida, the first female Japanese music producer to work on a Grammy-nominated album, is now discussing the Afeela's inspiration for her sound design.
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Kawanishi is back to discuss the Afeela Co-Creator Program that will allow developers to make apps and other content for the vehicles in-car system. He explains that this will enable freedom of customization due to the open platform.
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Sony Honda Mobility Afeela Press Conference at CES 2026
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Lempel says gaming franchises will be embedded in the Afeela A/V experience, with game-specific skins for the car's UI.
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PS Remote Play is coming to cars for the first time, right on to the Afeela entertainment system, using the DualSense controller. This was announced back in December.
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(You can read more about Remote Play right here.)
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Lempel is discussing PlayStation first: "We want PlayStation to be the best place to play. We think it's important to be where our players are."
He is chatting PS Remote Play, including streaming to PlayStation Portal.
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Sony Honda Mobility Afeela Press Conference at CES 2026
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To explain the entertainment side, SVP of Sony Entertainment Eric Lempel is on stage.
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Sony Honda Mobility Afeela Press Conference at CES 2026
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We've just seen Crunchyroll, and we're likely to hear about Sony's movies and PlayStation games on the Afeela's various displays.
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Sony Honda Mobility Afeela Press Conference at CES 2026
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Kawanishi is back to his MC duties after a chat with Duggal. We're now going to hear about in-cabin entertainment.
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"Together we are creating smarter and safer journeys," Duggal says. As you might expect, AI is a big part of all of this, as is cloud computing.
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The Snapdragon Digital Chassis is a key piece of this. Nakul Duggal from Qualcomm is on stage to talk about this.
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In the future, the driver's environment will transform the interior into a true entertainment space, he explains. There will also be conversational AI, which he says will understand every user in the car. This is all powered by a suite of Qualcomm tech.
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Sony Honda Mobility Afeela Press Conference at CES 2026
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Vehicle AI goes beyond the traditional vehicle OS, he says. AI is then at the center of mobility evolution, which allows Sony to create unique experiences, including Afeela Intelligent Drive.
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President and COO of Sony Honda Mobility Izumi Kawanishi is on stage to welcome us and rundown the company's achievements. He explains that mobility is a creative entertainment space, "harnessing the power of AI."
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Sony Afeela press conference at CES 2026
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Sony Honda Mobility Afeela Press Conference at CES 2026
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Dramatic video is kicking things off, showing the Afeela on actual roads... and some fake ones too.
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The Wi-Fi code is .SHMPRESS, in case any of you are in the area.
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Sony Afeela Press Conference at CES 2026
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I do appreciate that Sony and Honda built a car that doesn't look like a spaceship. Maybe that will help with adoption, but the starting price is still around $90,000.
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There's a car on stage already. No dramatic entrances today.
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We're about five minutes away. I expect a lot of reminders of what Sony has done, and only a sprinkle of new developments since last year. Hopefully, I'm wrong.
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Honestly, Sony's CES events haven't been all that gadget-focused in a while. Before the current car kick, the company told us a lot about its entertainment exploits rather than TVs, speakers, cameras or other devices.
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Yep, if you missed it, this is Sony's only press conference at CES 2026. So if you were expecting cameras, TVs and PlayStation things, you might not get any of that. Then again, Sony might just surprise us.
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As always, Sony's press conference is at its CES booth. It's always strange to hit the show floor before it officially opens. It will also always be strange that Sony's events at CES are now entirely car focused.
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Sony Afeela Press Conference at CES 2026
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While they get settled and ready for the liveblog, I'll fill in for a bit. Over the last few years, Sony has been showing off iterations of the Afeela vehicle. And of course, being Sony, the company also demonstrated some PlayStation integrations at past press conferences. This CES, we've already seen the news that the Afeela will support PlayStation Remote Play so you can game in your car.
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Hello and welcome to our liveblog of Sony's Afeela press conference at CES 2026. You'll be in capable hands today, as this liveblog will be led by two of Engadget's most charming and charismatic members: Mat Smith and Billy Steele. I'm sure their personalities will speak for themselves here, but they've also been covering Sony at CES for us over the years and have some level of expertise.
What to expect from Sony Afeela at CES
The Afeela 1 has been shown in various incarnations since CES 2020, where it was originally announced as the Vision-S. But so many more important details were confirmed in the past couple of years, including the price, which starts at a staggering $89,900. However, the earlier impressions were less than impressive, and as of CES 2025, that thought remains the same. Engadget's automotive expert Tim Stevens said a year ago that the EV "feels like a PlayStation 4 in the PS5 era," and that "the car lost what little interesting styling it had while sticking true to some specifications that sounded good five years ago." Ouch.
But the Afeela 1 won't be the only vehicle on display. Its CES booth will showcase "several Afeela 1 pre-production vehicles in multiple color variations, alongside a new Afeela concept model," Sony Honda Mobility said in a press release.
The company recently announced that the Afeela will be the first vehicle ever to offer PlayStation Remote Play, which lets players stream their PS4 or PS5 games from their consoles remotely while inside the car. That's no doubt built on the same streaming improvements that have been incorporated into the PlayStation Portal.
We're hoping to hear about what else is new and improved at CES 2026, and we're also excited to see its newest concept model. And between booth displays and press releases, we're hoping we'll get to see at least a few new Sony Electronics products on the docket for 2026, too.
Update, January 4 2026, 4:17PM ET: This story has been updated to include the embedded YouTube stream for the Afeela presentation.
Update, January 5 2026, 5:15PM ET: This story has been updated to include the embedded liveblog.