Afeela Launches an SUV Concept at the 2026 CES, says a Production Version is Coming in 2028

• Afeela is the result of a partnership between Sony and Honda.

• The Afeela 1 will be a luxurious electric sedan with advanced built-in technologies.

• The SUV will be based on the sedan, but no technical details have been confirmed.

As its first model is about to go into production later this year, Afeela unveiled a new SUV Concept at the 2026 Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

Planned for a 2028 market introduction, this model looks very much like a lifted Afeela 1 sedan with a higher roofline and front fascia.

That’s about as much as we know for now, as no technical details have been announced for either the sedan or the SUV, which is called Afeela Prototype 2026.

The only thing Sony Honda Mobility (SHM) has confirmed is a targeted range of 300 miles (483 kilometres) for the sedan, as well as an $89,900 starting price in the United States.

This price point will put Afeela models out of the reach of most vehicle buyers, but the company says it is happy to occupy a niche market, aiming for technologies and user experience rather than volume.

This suggests that more affordable models are not on the way from SHM, and a similar price point is expected for the SUV.

To justify this market positioning, the company will introduce numerous new technologies with the Afeela 1, including built-in Remote Play, which will allow passengers to stream PlayStation games over the vehicle’s 5G connection.

An AI voice assistant, called Afeela Personal Agent will also be included, making it possible to control multiple functions via natural language.

Artificial intelligence will also be used by the driver assistance systems, which will run a bespoke vision-language model.

SHM has entrusted producer Tomoko Ida, the first female Japanese music producer to have worked on a Grammy-nominated album, to craft unique sounds for Afeela vehicles, three of which are being demonstrated at CES.

These include an E-Motor sound that can be heard when the vehicle is accelerating, and owners will reportedly be able to customize these sounds, along with themes that can decorate the vehicle’s themes.

We don’t yet quite know how that process would work, but the company is reportedly working on an “on-chain” platform which artists could use to create and share assets for the Afeela 1 in exchange for crypto.

Of course, an advanced level-4 self-driving system will be available for Afeela models, but not at the start of production.

Indeed, a level 2+ system that allows hands-free driving when the driver is looking at the road will be included in the first models, with a more advanced system that won’t require human supervision coming down the pipeline at a later date.

Production of test units has already started at Honda’s East Liberty assembly plant in Ohio, and full-scale manufacturing is expected to begin in time for the first deliveries in California, planned before the end of the year.

California is currently the only market where the Afeela 1 is available, and the company intends to make sure its local customers are satisfied with the quality of the vehicles before expanding to Arizona and Japan.

Despite being home to both Sony and Honda, Japan will not be a major market for SHM, which wants to concentrate on the United States.

In fact, sales in Europe are not even on the cards at the moment.

Given that the Afeela 1 is expected to reach its first buyers later this year, more details about its technical aspects should be released in the next few months.

This will likely give us a fairly good idea of what to expect from the newly revealed SUV also, since it is expected to share most of its mechanical elements with the sedan.

Source: Car and Driver