Joining the trend, Sony's first electric vehicle-related patent application in the Energy Financial Settlement sector was published last week. The document is directed to calculating tax for EV charging based on the tax jurisdiction, amount of electricity used, timing, etc. It uses smart grid technology and is compatible with private energy sources such as personal solar panels.
Sony is not new to the electric vehicle space, but most of its market activities have been indirect. For example, the company had invested $842,000 in Japanese robotics company ZMP to develop self-driving cars. Is the patent publication signaling that Sony is becoming more involved in this growing industry?
