Jan 4 Reuters Japan39;s Sony on Wednesday unveiled a prototype of the new Afeela electric vehicles it will build together with Honda, saying it would harness its vast entertainment content as it looks to become a player in nextgeneration cars.

Sony gave a glimpse of the Afeela, which sports rounded corners and a sleek black roof, at the CES 2023 technology trade show in Las Vegas. The car will use technology from hardware maker Qualcomm Inc, including its Snapdragon digital chassis.

Sony39;s longawaited push into electric vehicles it announced the venture with Honda in March shows how manufacturers are increasingly focused on the cockpit experience in cars, which offers the potential to sell content via subscription services cars, especially as autonomous driving capabilities improve.

In order to realise intelligent mobility, continuous software updates and highperformance computing are required, Yashuhide Mizuno, the chief executive of Sony Honda Mobility, told the trade show. To that end, we will work closely with Qualcomm.

Qualcomm on Wednesday launched a new processor, the Snapdragon Ride Flex SoC, that handles both assisted driving and cockpit functions, including entertainment. Previously those functions were handled on different chips, and bringing them together can help bring down costs, a Qualcomm executive told Reuters.

Sony is also looking to harness its traditional strengths in sensors. The Afeela will be equipped with more than 40 sensors, Mizuno…