In accordance with SHM, this additionally makes it the primary firm in Japan to introduce the NACS commonplace and permit entry to the Tesla V3 and V4 Superchargers. Sony Honda Mobility is the electrical automobile three way partnership between the 2 Japanese teams, and the autos themselves will likely be launched underneath the Afeela model.
Meaning the electrical saloon from Afeela will launch available on the market with NACS because the charging commonplace proper from the beginning – at the least in North America. In accordance with SHM, the books for pre-orders of the primary Afeela mannequin ought to open within the US within the first half of 2025, with gross sales beginning later that 12 months. Nevertheless, deliveries within the US will not be anticipated till spring 2026. In Japan, the saloon ought to launch within the second half of 2026.
“Sony Honda Mobility is dedicated to pursuing worth creation centred round individuals for driving pleasure and an entertaining in-car expertise. We prioritise buyer comfort even in charging and have determined to undertake NACS,” stated Yasuhide Mizuno, Consultant Director, Chairman and CEO of Sony Honda Mobility. “We sincerely thank Tesla for offering us the chance to undertake NACS in addition to their newest and superior technology-equipped V3 and V4 Superchargers for Afeela.”
Max de Zegher, Director of Charging at Tesla, added: “Tesla Superchargers characterize the biggest international community, with 60,000 Superchargers and rising. In Japan, 90% of 150kW+ chargers are Superchargers. True to Tesla’s mission, we additionally wish to be useful to corporations going electrical, and enhance charging experiences for all EV drivers. That’s why we’re excited to see the North American Charging Customary (NACS) gaining traction in Japan, and we welcome Sony Honda Mobility as the primary automaker to hitch the motion.”
The NACS – additionally elevated to a standardised charging system as SAE J3400 on the finish of 2023 – was designed by Tesla as a proprietary charging system for its electrical automobiles in North America. After Tesla launched the design of its Supercharger connector in November 2022, it took a couple of months for different automobile producers to make use of it. Because of the very excessive penetration of Superchargers in North America, it was engaging for a lot of automobile producers to change to the NACS. Since then, quite a few producers have introduced the swap, and the primary third-party manufacturers can already use the US Superchargers – even whether it is nonetheless a ready recreation.
By the way, Afeela would be the first automobile producer to promote NACS autos in Japan, however it’s not at all the primary Japanese producer with NACS: Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Subaru, and Mazda have already introduced the swap – however just for fashions bought in North America.
shm-afeela.com, x.com