Sony Honda Mobility (SHM) has announced an agreement with Tesla to adopt the North American Charging Standard (NACS) for its “AFEELA” EVs, which will start sales in 2025, first from United States and later in Japan.
This also makes Sony and Honda mobility joint venture AFEELA the first company in Japan, to adopt the NACS standard, and have access to Tesla V3 and V4 Superchargers.
Tesla Superchargers represent the largest global network, with 60,000 Superchargers and growing. In Japan, 90% of 150kW+ chargers are Superchargers.
Tesla has opened its Supercharger network to all non-Tesla EVs. So far, electric vehicles made by Ford, Rivian and GM can power up at select stations. The rest of the major automakers will follow by early 2025.
“True to Tesla’s mission, we also want to be helpful to companies going electric, and improve charging experiences for all EV drivers. That’s why we’re excited to see the North American Charging Standard (NACS) gaining traction in Japan, and we welcome Sony Honda Mobility as the first automaker to join the movement,” said Max de Zegher, Director of Charging, Tesla.
“Sony Honda Mobility is committed to pursuing value creation centered around people for driving pleasure and an entertaining in-car experience. We prioritize customer convenience even in charging and have decided to adopt NACS. We sincerely thank Tesla for providing us the opportunity to adopt NACS as well as their latest and advanced technology-equipped V3 and V4 Superchargers for AFEELA, said Yasuhide Mizuno, Representative Director, Chairman and CEO, Sony Honda Mobility.
Pre-orders for the first AFEELA EV model will begin in the first half of 2025 in the U.S., with sales starting later that same year.
Deliveries are expected to start in spring 2026 in the U.S. and Japan to follow in the latter half of 2026.