Sony Explores Electric Car Business, Presents New Vehicle Model
2022-01-09
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1Japan's Sony Group says it plans to launch a company this spring to explore entering the electric vehicle (EV) market.
2Sony's president and chairman, Kenichiro Yoshida, announced the plans Wednesday in the United States.
3He was speaking at the start of the CES technology conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.
4The new company, called Sony Mobility Inc., also aims "to make the best use of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics technologies," Sony said in a statement.
5It will seek to "help realize a world where everyone can live in harmony with robots on a daily basis," the statement added.
6Sony said its imaging, sensing and entertainment technologies put the company in a good position "to redefine mobility," Yoshida said.
7Such technologies are expected to play an important part in the operations of self-driving vehicles.
8During his presentation, Yoshida introduced a new electric vehicle model, called the VISION-S 02.
9He said the vehicle is based on the same technology as the VISION-S 01, a model presented at the CES conference in 2020.
10Sony said it started road testing the VISION-S 01 in Europe in December 2020.
11And it has carried out tests on the vehicle's imaging, sensing and safety systems.
12The company has the same plans for its VISION-S 02.
13Yoshida told reporters the company sees mobility as an "entertainment space" where passengers can choose individualized entertainment and connect using 5G.
145G is the next generation of high-speed wireless technology.
15Many large automobile manufacturers worldwide are investing heavily in electric vehicle technology.
16American-based electric car maker Tesla has risen to become the world's most valuable automobile company.
17In Japan, Toyota Motor Corporation announced in December it planned to invest $70 billion to electrify its automobiles by 2030.
18Many investors also expect iPhone maker Apple to launch an electric vehicle within the next few years.
19Meanwhile, a U.S. company based in Michigan said this week that it had tested a version of a new battery.
20The device was able to power a vehicle for 1,210 kilometers on a single charge.
21The test was carried out in a Tesla Model S vehicle.
22The company, Our Next Energy (ONE), says it plans to begin producing batteries with a similar ability by late 2023.
23ONE's chief executive, Mujeeb Ijaz, told Reuters news agency,
24"We plan to build (batteries) in North America, and believe it can be done economically."
25The company has worked to develop a long-distance battery that uses safer and more sustainable materials.
26The batteries are designed to contain more energy in a smaller, less costly space.
27Ijaz has 30 years of industry experience in developing battery systems for electric cars.
28He formerly led such projects for Apple and battery maker A123 Systems.
29He said the company aims to remove in-demand metals such as nickel and cobalt from its batteries, without losing energy density.
30"We aim to re-invent battery chemistry as well as the cell architecture" to be able to reach 1,210 kilometers of distance between charges, Ijaz told Reuters.
31I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Japan's Sony Group says it plans to launch a company this spring to explore entering the electric vehicle (EV) market. 2Sony's president and chairman, Kenichiro Yoshida, announced the plans Wednesday in the United States. He was speaking at the start of the CES technology conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. 3The new company, called Sony Mobility Inc., also aims "to make the best use of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics technologies," Sony said in a statement. It will seek to "help realize a world where everyone can live in harmony with robots on a daily basis," the statement added. 4Sony said its imaging, sensing and entertainment technologies put the company in a good position "to redefine mobility," Yoshida said. Such technologies are expected to play an important part in the operations of self-driving vehicles. 5During his presentation, Yoshida introduced a new electric vehicle model, called the VISION-S 02. He said the vehicle is based on the same technology as the VISION-S 01, a model presented at the CES conference in 2020. 6Sony said it started road testing the VISION-S 01 in Europe in December 2020. And it has carried out tests on the vehicle's imaging, sensing and safety systems. The company has the same plans for its VISION-S 02. 7Yoshida told reporters the company sees mobility as an "entertainment space" where passengers can choose individualized entertainment and connect using 5G. 5G is the next generation of high-speed wireless technology. 8Many large automobile manufacturers worldwide are investing heavily in electric vehicle technology. American-based electric car maker Tesla has risen to become the world's most valuable automobile company. In Japan, Toyota Motor Corporation announced in December it planned to invest $70 billion to electrify its automobiles by 2030. 9Many investors also expect iPhone maker Apple to launch an electric vehicle within the next few years. 10Meanwhile, a U.S. company based in Michigan said this week that it had tested a version of a new battery. The device was able to power a vehicle for 1,210 kilometers on a single charge. The test was carried out in a Tesla Model S vehicle. 11The company, Our Next Energy (ONE), says it plans to begin producing batteries with a similar ability by late 2023. 12ONE's chief executive, Mujeeb Ijaz, told Reuters news agency, "We plan to build (batteries) in North America, and believe it can be done economically." 13The company has worked to develop a long-distance battery that uses safer and more sustainable materials. The batteries are designed to contain more energy in a smaller, less costly space. 14Ijaz has 30 years of industry experience in developing battery systems for electric cars. He formerly led such projects for Apple and battery maker A123 Systems. 15He said the company aims to remove in-demand metals such as nickel and cobalt from its batteries, without losing energy density. "We aim to re-invent battery chemistry as well as the cell architecture" to be able to reach 1,210 kilometers of distance between charges, Ijaz told Reuters. 16I'm Bryan Lynn. 17Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from Reuters, The Associated Press and Industry materials. 18We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 19____________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21artificial intelligence (AI) - n. an area of computer science that deals with giving machines the ability to seem like they have human intelligence 22harmony - n. a situation in which people are peaceful and agree with each other 23entertainment - n. shows, films, television or other performances or activities that entertain people 24mobility - n. the ability to move freely or be easily moved 25battery - n. a device that provides and stores electricity for things 26charge -n. an amount of electricity that is usually contained in a device such as a battery 27sustainable - adj. involving methods that do not completely use up or destroy natural resources 28architecture - n. the design and appearance of something