The annual CES exhibition held in early January in Las Vegas, the world's largest IT trade show, showcased the latest technologies from artificial intelligence to drones. But what attracted the visitors' attention the most was Sony Corp.'s Vision-S electric vehicle equipped with self-driving technology. The release of the prototype vehicle caught not just the consumer electronics industry by surprise but automakers across the world.

As he unveiled the first car ever built by the Japanese electronics giant, Sony President and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida proclaimed that the company made the vehicle in collaboration with various partners — as if to emphasize its technological prowess.

Sony's strong financial performance in recent years — its consolidated operating profit for the year to March 2019 set new highs for the second year in a row — has been accompanied by a tinge of disappointment that the firm still lacks its earlier strength in creating new products. In that sense, the electric vehicle project may be a harbinger of Sony's true comeback.