Model Y

Make
Tesla
Segment
SUV

Global electronics giant Sony shocked the crowd at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show with its unveiling of the pure-electric Vision-S sedan concept. The company was quick to specify that the sleek electric sedan was not for series production, intended instead to showcase Sony's latest high-tech in-car electronic gizmos, but it generated a lot of buzz regardless.

Now, a recent video from Sony raises the possibility that the Vision-S could be followed by something a bit bigger - perhaps a Vision crossover utility vehicle concept. Such a vehicle can clearly be seen lurking in the background of one of the shots, and we've taken the liberty of brightening up said shot to make it easier to see.

The vehicle, whose nose is just visible for a moment at around the 41-second mark, looks bigger and taller than the Vision-S sedan, with a different front bumper cover.

It's worth noting that although Sony obviously isn't a legacy automaker, the idea that they could build a car isn't entirely out of the question. For one thing, the electronics company certainly generates enough revenue to support such an endeavor, and for another, the Vision-S concept was built with Austria's Magna Steyr - a company with a history of producing cars under contract for the major automakers.

Among the list of vehicles assembled by Magna Steyr are the first-generation BMW X3, the Saab 9-3 convertible, the BMW Z4/Toyota Supra Mk V, and perhaps most intriguing of all, the battery-electric Jaguar I-Pace electric crossover.

The Sony Vision-S is that company's idea of what an autonomy-capable electric sedan of the future might look like, leveraging some 33 sensors including CMOS and time-of-flight cameras to paint a full, detailed picture of the surrounding environment to facilitate its self-driving capabilities. The dash is dominated by a massive panoramic digital display, and speakers built into each seat power an immersive audio experience that Sony has dubbed "360 Reality Audio."

That all seems like exactly the sort of tech Sony could supply to the legacy automakers, but will the electronics giant pursue entering the automotive business itself? Probably not, but it's not insignificant that Sony has continued to develop the Vision-S in preparation for on-road test drives. Now, the prospect of a Vision utility vehicle concept can only stoke more speculation, especially as it might make for a formidable rival to the new Tesla Model Y.