Sony’s ‘Vision-S’ concept EV will hit public roads this year

In context: When you think of electric carmakers, Sony probably doesn’t come to mind. Regardless, the tech giant became just that during CES 2020, when it unveiled the “Vision-S,” an all-electric sedan concept intended to showcase Sony’s auto technology.

Like many projects revealed at CES, the Vision-S was, as the name suggests, just a vision for the future, and not necessarily an actual product that Sony intended to bring to market. However, it seems that things have changed somewhat in the months since CES drew to a close.

Now, Sony says it plans to do a lot more with the Vision-S — the vehicle has arrived in Tokyo, so that the company can advance its “sensing and audio technologies.” To accomplish that task more efficiently, the car will be hitting public roads in the city as soon as this fiscal year.

While out and about, Sony will probably be attempting to improve the Vision-S autonomous driving capabilities. As of CES 2020, the vehicle possessed Level 2 automation, courtesy of 33 individual sensors. Since many other self-driving car companies are already approaching Level 5 autonomy, Sony certainly has some catching up to do in this regard.

The Vision-S, for the unaware, has two 200kW engines, a top speed of 149MPH, and a 0-60 speed of roughly five seconds. It also has “AI, 5G, and cloud technologies,” as well as “360 Reality Audio,” which references the car’s built-in seat speakers.

We don’t know what Sony’s long-term plans for the Vision-S are, but we’ll likely find out in the coming months.