Sony Group and Honda Motor are examining other business opportunities through their joint venture (JV), Sony-Honda Mobility, after dropping development of their first planned electric vehicle (EV), Nikkei Asia reported.

The JV said last month that development of the Afeela 1 had been halted after changes to Honda’s electrification plans.

Honda had been in charge of manufacturing the vehicle.

Following the cancellation of the Afeela 1 programme, the companies are now trying to determine a viable long-term model for the JV.

Set up in 2022 as an equally owned venture, the company is now reworking its business plans and operating model, including decisions over the future of its roughly 400 staff.

According to the report, some functions within the business, including marketing, are seen as having more employees than needed.

Sony and Honda are considering taking some of those workers back into their parent organisations.

The companies are also discussing other products and services outside the EV segment.

These include possible uses for technology created for the Afeela 1, such as an artificial intelligence assistant and in-car audio features.

The cancelled model had been designed with 40 sensors to track its surroundings and was expected to support Sony’s PlayStation 5 console.

It had initially been due to reach North America in 2026, followed by Japan in 2027.

Sony-Honda Mobility could still return to the idea of launching a passenger vehicle at a later stage, though this would come with difficulties as rivals in the US and China continue to move quickly in autonomous driving and related technologies.

Although the first vehicle project has been scrapped, Sony is expected to keep using the partnership as a route to extend its entertainment activities into mobility.

Honda, meanwhile, may incorporate some of the software and service capabilities developed through the venture into its wider passenger vehicle operations.