Well, it looks like electric vehicles are something everybody is interested in. We saw reports that Apple is working on its electric car. And now, Engadget reports that Sony is also testing its Vision-S electric car on public roads.
To recall, Sony surprised everybody by showcasing their take on electric vehicles with an electric car named Vision-S at CES 2020. It may take a while for you to digest the fact that Sony is actually interested in making electric cars.
But looking at Apple taking a serious interest in electric vehicles, it makes sense for other OEMs to venture into this field. After CES 2020, everybody was thinking, will we ever see the Sony Vision-S on road?
The good news is that Sony is testing the Vision-S electric car on public roads. This also hints that this Sony Vision-S car is more than a concept and may soon make some noise at the upcoming trade shows.
Sony’s CES 2021 keynote stated that it has begun testing the Sony Vision-S car last month. Notably, the car was tested by taking it on a trip through Austria.
In fact, the company also shared a video about the same revealing some of the features that the Sony Vision-S may sport.
Sony Vision-S electric car has rear-facing cameras instead of wing mirrors
Taking a look at the official video, it reveals that the Sony Vision-S sedan features sensors on the front and rear bumpers. Moreover, it has rear-facing cameras instead of wing mirrors.
Back in 2020, when Sony announced this car, it said that the car would have 33 sensors. This would include CMOS, ToF (Time of Flight), and LiDAR sensors.
These sensors were included in the car to support a host of driver aids. Surprisingly, the number of sensors has been bumped to 40. However, there is not much clarity on what those extra sensors are or what is their purpose.
Sony being Sony is also said to provide an “immersive audio experience.” It is something you expect from Sony, isn’t it? Furthermore, Sony says that the car will feature two motors capable of 560 hp.
With this much power, the Sony Vision-S sedan can zoom to 60 mph in about 5 seconds. As much as we would have liked more information about Sony’s electric car, unfortunately, these are the only stats that Sony has revealed.
Information such as the price of the vehicle, battery size, charging time, launch date, etc. has not been answered. TheNextWeb reports that one of Sony‘s partners working on the vehicle did say that the parties are working to bring the vehicle as soon as possible.
That’s a good thing, but we wouldn’t want Sony to rush things. Especially when brands like Tesla already have the majority market and is an established player.