March 7, 2022: -Japanese electronics giant Sony and carmaker Honda has created a joint venture to make and sell electric vehicles, the companies said Friday.

Sony and Honda aim to establish a company this year and start sales of their first vehicle in 2025.

The new company will design, develop and sell electric cars but not own or operate manufacturing facilities. With its years-long expertise in car making, Honda will be looking to manufacture the vehicle at its plants. Sony is developing the “mobility service platform” for the car.

It’s not clear what that might look like at this point, but Sony is a crucial supplier of image sensors for smartphones and is designing these chips for cars. Sony is also a significant gaming player with its PlayStation division.

Sony said in January that it would set up a company called Sony Mobility to explore entry into the electric vehicle market. The company took the wraps off a prototype sport utility vehicle is known as the VISION-S 02.

Honda has been transitioning to become an electric car company. The Japanese automaker says that it would phase out gas-powered vehicles by 2040. Honda has a joint venture with General Motors to develop new electric cars.

The Sony and Honda venture mark another example of technology companies that jumps into the auto sector and carmakers looking to boost their technological capabilities.

Chinese technology companies Baidu and Xiaomi have formed electric vehicle companies, while a report suggested Apple ramps its efforts in self-driving vehicles.