Sony is open to the idea of building a new car. It is reportedly making partnerships with a known carmaker company in order to produce a unique tech-infused cars.
Google and Apple were reportedly made a step into building cars. Now, Sony is seems to add-up with those non-traditional carmaker companies in competing against the traditional carmakers to capture the automobile market.
Sony building a new car makes sense, since it invested about a hundred million yen that is roughly at $842,000 to buy the 2 percent of stakes in ZMP.
ZMP is an established Japanese robotics company that serves the international educational market.
In July 2015, Sony teamed up with ZMP Inc. to form a joint venture called Aerosense in order to create commercial drones for the survey and inspection of difficult to access areas.
However, Sony has no plan yet in building a car. According to what Mr. Kazuo Hirai, the Chief Executive of Sony, said to Financial Times, "If we fundamentally believe at some point in time that we can make a difference in the automotive space, it's something that we will look at".
"We don't have plans at this point but never say never", the Chief Executive added.
After Sony and ZMP's Aerospace drone project, fans can totally expect a unique car product if Sony will pursue on automobile market, which would be developed with self-driving car technologies.
Tech-infused cars can modify a new market for both hardware and productivity. The potential of having new setups in driving turns into a smartphone-like usability. Moreover, the need of knowledge in making internal combustion powered cars might be lessened because of the arrival of electric cars.
With Sony's expertise in image sensors and ZMP's knowledge in robotics and drones, it possible to build a high-tech innovation in automobile industry.
In addition to what the Chief Executive told Financial Times, non-traditional vehicle manufacturers still have much to learn when it comes to creating "emotional value" that connects consumers to cars.
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