As a PR exercise, Sony’s foray into EV-building could be considered overkill. But they surely didn’t spend all that R&D cashola on an otherwise disposable CES show-stopper called the Vision-S. Is the company is jockeying its way into position for the EV/AEV revolution that’s going to begin in this new decade, and leveraging its considerable history as an electronics mainstay to do it?

Sony emphatically says no, but—again—a lot of money was spent here, right down to a modular platform which is apparently proprietary, and designed for all currently popular styles right now: SUV, sedan, and coupe. Sony didn’t get into powerplant details, only revealing that the Vision-S is powered by two motors, and can tickle 150 MPH.

Sony borrowed the popular industry ‘Vision’ moniker, which has been used by both Mercedes and BMW, for the concept; as for the ‘S’…well, you know what that stands for. Not BMW, who was busy at this year’s CES showing off their boutique hotel on wheels. Or Mercedes. Or Lexus, for that matter, and perhaps therein lies the tale.

For some reason the uptown division of Toyota—and Japan generally—has been pretty slow to the gate when it comes to luxury EV offerings. Lexus’ first EV will see production this year, but won’t make it West. A surprise upstart like Sony could conceivably come along and make a place for itself in the market among Japanese contenders, at least as a manufacturer of essential EV and AEV components. Right now, the company is keeping shtum on such subjects, in an attempt to limit speculation.

What the company did talk about was connectivity and autonomous-car tech, the latter involving a complex analytics system that uses radar, lidar, and cameras to assess, compensate, and negotiate the Vision-S when in traffic. And luxury touches? 360 Reality Audio, and a panoramic screen for a dash.