Honda, Sony create joint electric vehicle venture

March 4 (UPI) -- Two Japanese business giants announced a joint venture Friday to get into the electric vehicle business, developing, designing and selling their own cars.

Automaker Honda and electronics leader Sony said the new company would not own or operate manufacturing facilities itself. Honda will handle the manufacturing while Sony will provide the "mobility service platform."

"The two companies will proceed with negotiations toward executing various definitive binding agreements, including a joint development agreement and a joint venture agreement, with a goal of establishing the new company within 2022, subject to execution of the definitive agreements and relevant regulatory approvals," Honda said in a statement.

Honda said sales of the first electric vehicles from the new company are expected to start in 2025.

"The new company will aim to stand at the forefront of innovation, evolution and expansion of mobility around the world, by taking a broad and ambitious approach to creating value that exceeds the expectations and imagination of customers," Toshihiro Mibe, director and president, of Honda Motor Co., said in a statement.

Mibe said Honda will leverage its technology and know-how in relation to the environment and safety while merging the technological assets of both companies.

"Although Sony and Honda are companies that share many historical and cultural similarities, our areas of technological expertise are very different," Mibe said. "Therefore, I believe this alliance which brings together the strengths of our two companies offers great possibilities for the future of mobility."

Kenichiro Yoshida, president and CEO of the Sony Group Corp., said his company is well-positioned to contribute to the electric vehicle venture.

"Through this alliance with Honda, which has accumulated extensive global experience and achievements in the automobile industry over many years and continues to make revolutionary advancements in this field, we intend to build on our vision to 'make the mobility space an emotional one,' and contribute to the evolution of mobility centered around safety, entertainment and adaptability," he said in a separate statement.