A serious conflict is brewing within Honda\u2019s dealer network over the Afeela electric vehicle brand, which the company is developing jointly with Sony, Carscoops reports. U.S. dealers, particularly in California, have openly criticized Honda\u2019s sales strategy, arguing that the new project diverts resources away from the core Honda and Acura brands at a time when demand for electric vehicles is beginning to slow. Honda, however, appears unwilling to change course.<\/p>\n
At this year\u2019s CES, Sony Honda Mobility unveiled the production version of the Afeela 1 electric sedan, which is scheduled for a limited launch in California by the end of 2026. The company also hinted at a second model line\u2014an electric crossover currently under development. Sales, delivery, and servicing of Afeela vehicles will be handled directly, without involving Honda\u2019s traditional dealer network, although some service support will be provided through independent repair networks.<\/p>\n
This direct-to-consumer sales model is the main source of dealer frustration. Back in August last year, the California New Car Dealers Association filed a lawsuit against Honda and Sony, claiming that the approach violates state law. In response, Sony Honda Mobility has argued that it is a separate legal entity and therefore not required to use Honda\u2019s existing dealer infrastructure.<\/p>\n
Bill Feinstein, chairman of Honda\u2019s Dealer Advisory Board, told Auto News that even if Afeela is aimed at a different, more tech-oriented audience, he sees no compelling reason to completely bypass the dealer network that has supported the brand for decades. Honda, for its part, has emphasized that it clearly and transparently warned its partners in advance that dealers would not be involved in the sales or distribution of Afeela vehicles.<\/p>\n
The project\u2019s economic rationale is also a cause for concern. According to Feinstein, it is difficult to justify launching a premium electric sedan priced above $90,000 amid declining consumer interest in EVs, high interest rates, and intense price competition. He also stressed that dealers fear a drain on financial and engineering resources: funds invested in the development, production, and marketing of Afeela could instead have been allocated to expanding mainstream Honda and Acura models with greater sales and profitability potential.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":150994,"menu_order":0,"template":"","newscat":[9],"newstag":[],"issues":[],"class_list":["post-150993","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","newscat-novosti"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/150993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"newscat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newscat?post=150993"},{"taxonomy":"newstag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newstag?post=150993"},{"taxonomy":"issues","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issues?post=150993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}