The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is described by Wikipedia: “CES (formerly an acronym for Consumer Electronics Show[1]) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, the event typically hosts presentations of new products and technologies in the consumer electronics industry.” This year the Las Vegas show will be held January 7th to the 10th. There is an Asian version later on in the year June 10 to 12 in Shanghai China.
Endgadget reports on the new vehicle announcement: “Sony has unveiled an electric car — yes, an actual car — at CES today. It’s the first prototype vehicle under Sony’s mobility efforts called the Vision-S initiative, and based on what the tech giant said during its press event, it was built to showcase the automotive technologies it developed and can offer. Sony teamed up with a number of companies such as Bosch, Continental, NVIDIA and Qualcomm, to create the prototype sedan.”
The Vision-S is packed with new technology
A recent Verge article notes: “In fact, the Vision-S features 33 different sensors inside and outside of the car, multiple widescreen displays, 360 audio, and always-on connectivity, with some pieces coming from industry players like BlackBerry and Bosch. It’s also powered by a “newly-designed EV platform” — which appears to have been engineered by automotive supplier Magna — that Sony says will be able to power other vehicle types, like SUVs.”
The outside of the car looks similar to some aspects of Porsche vehicles especially around the headlights. A side profile shows some resemblance to the Air of Lucid Motors. Inside the dashboard spanning screen is much like that of the Chinese EV startup Byton has in its cars with screens for rear seat passengers built into the front headrests. Many photos of the vehicle are available here.
Brief Sony announcement leaves many questions unanswered
Sony announced the new car at the tail end of its CES press conference. Sony spent at most a couple of minutes discussing the new vehicles before ending their conference. Does Sony or perhaps Magna intend to put this concept car into production or is it just a reference car. Will Magna let other companies companies build their own prototypes on the platform?
The appended video is of Sony’s press conference. Most of it is about the Sony PlayStation but discussion of the new car starts at minute 4.
