Sony isn’t making the Vision-S electric sedan after all

It was 2020 when Sony surprised the world, or at least CES attendees, with a show car. Called the Vision-S Concept, it’s an electric sedan that aims to drive itself and with the tech giant behind the project, you could argue that more than a handful of people were hoping it would hit production.

A year later, Sony introduced the Vision-S to the public again, but this time during a public test drive in Europe, which naturally raised hope among the hopefuls of the production version. Sony is indeed constantly evolving the concept, but it won’t reach production – not as a Sony brand car anyway.

This revelation came from a Sony spokesperson who said Car and driver that the company “does not intend to mass produce or sell the vehicle”.

So, yes, however beautiful the Vision-S concept may be, it is only a test bed for future automotive technologies, especially in terms of safety and reliability in autonomous driving, as well as for improving in-car entertainment and the overall experience.

The Vision-S concept currently has Level 2+ autonomous vehicle capabilities, limited to adaptive cruise control, an automatic parking system and automatic lane change. Obviously, the tech giant isn’t stopping there, with Level 4 in sight.

In terms of technology, the Vision-S Concept also boasts a sophisticated stereo with the company’s 360 Reality Audio system, creating one sphere of sound per person. Of course, with a 5G connection on board, playing video games on the road is a must.

Imagery, optics and entertainment, among others – Sony shows us that its technologies can transcend automobiles. Don’t be surprised if one day an autonomous electric vehicle will arrive with Sony components. When this happens, you have to remember that there was once a beautiful Sony brand car that responded to its development.