• by Tanya Gazdik , February 27, 2024

Verizon Business is collaborating with KDDI to bring connected car capabilities to Sony Honda Mobility’s Afeela.

This collaboration will enable cellular connectivity and advanced mobility features for the first mass-production electric vehicle of Afeela in the United States, using Verizon’s 5G and 4G LTE networks and KDDI’s Global Communications Platform to support car connectivity.

Verizon also recently partnered with Audi AG to build a private 5G wireless network powering its test track in Germany.

Verizon is the telematics and connectivity provider for the Afeela brand's first mass-production electric vehicle in the United States, through a long-term partnership with Japanese-headquartered telecom operator KDDI.

Afeela, a brand of Sony Honda Mobility announced at CES 2023, is the software-defined electric vehicle with advanced sensing technology, AI capabilities and connected features.

The vehicle’s name is meant to express an interactive relationship through which people “feel” mobility as an intelligent entity and mobility “feels” people and society using sensing and network IT technologies. 

The mass-produced model is scheduled to be launched in 2025, with deliveries starting in North America in the spring of 2026.

Sony Honda Mobility was established by Sony Group and Honda for the joint development and sale of high-value-added electric vehicles and the provision of services for mobility in September 2022. Under the purpose of "Move people, through the pursuit of innovation with diverse inspirations,” SHM is paving the way for a new era of mobility, according to the company.