If there was any doubt that Sony and Honda’s Afeela brand was serious about becoming a full-fledged EV player, that doubt evaporated under the bright lights of CES 2026. Fresh off launching its first production car—the Afeela 1 electric sedan—the joint venture has confirmed its next move: a fully electric SUV slated to hit U.S. roads in 2028.
Revealed as a prototype in Las Vegas, the yet-unnamed SUV is positioned as a direct response to premium electric family haulers like the Lucid Gravity, Rivian R1S, BMW iX, and Volvo EX90. And while it’s technically a new model, think of it less as a clean-sheet design and more as the Afeela 1 sedan… on stilts.
According to Afeela, the SUV “builds on the core concept” of the sedan while adding “greater spatial flexibility and accessibility”—corporate speak for we want more buyers. That makes sense. Sedans may still matter, but SUVs are where the volume (and profit margins) live, especially in the U.S.
Same Look, More Headroom
Design-wise, Afeela didn’t reinvent the wheel. The SUV retains the brand’s minimalist aesthetic: smooth surfacing, clean lines, and those distinctive wraparound light bars that look more consumer electronics than traditional automotive. The fastback-style rear roofline survives the transition to SUV form, giving the vehicle a sleeker profile than most boxy three-row rivals.
Dimensionally, it appears to mirror the sedan closely, likely stretching just under five meters in length with a wheelbase of slightly more than three meters. That puts it squarely in the midsize-to-large luxury EV SUV class—big enough to feel substantial, but not Escalade-big.
Honda Hardware, Sony Software
Under the skin, expect familiar hardware. The SUV is likely to ride on the same Honda-engineered platform as the Afeela 1, complete with a 91-kWh lithium-ion battery. Range should land around 300 miles, with DC fast-charging speeds up to 150 kW. Dual electric motors are expected to deliver a combined 482 horsepower—respectable, if not class-leading, in this segment.
Where Afeela continues to differentiate itself is tech. Honda may handle the engineering and manufacturing—production will again take place in Ohio—but Sony is responsible for the digital experience. That means a heavy emphasis on software, user interface, and sensor-driven systems.
The SUV will feature the same robotics-based posture control system designed to optimize ride comfort, along with Level 2-plus driver assistance. Inside, a highly customizable infotainment system will dominate the cabin, while the exterior retains Afeela’s signature “media bar” on the nose—a programmable light display that signals vehicle status and, presumably, your enthusiasm for futuristic design.
Premium Pricing, Patient Buyers Required
Don’t expect bargains. The Afeela 1 sedan starts at roughly $90,000, and the SUV is expected to push past the $100,000 mark. That pricing places it squarely against high-spec versions of the Lucid Gravity and Rivian R1S—two vehicles that already have a head start in both production and brand recognition.
Timing may be Afeela’s biggest challenge. While the SUV is planned for production in about two years, the sedan has yet to begin customer deliveries in California, with Arizona and Japan following later. Wider global availability, including Europe, isn’t expected before 2030—and there are currently no confirmed plans to sell either model there at all.
Still, the sedan shown at CES was a pre-production car pulled directly from the Ohio assembly line, suggesting Afeela is finally moving from concept-stage ambition to real-world execution.
The SUV, then, isn’t just a new body style—it’s a test of whether Sony and Honda can translate their combined expertise into something buyers actually want to live with. If they get it right, Afeela might become more than just CES spectacle. If not, it risks being another beautifully designed EV that arrived a little too late.
Either way, the electric SUV wars just got another serious contender.
Source: Autocar