Carplay in Japan

Since its launch in 2014, the Carplay technology system has allowed drivers to perform certain tasks on their iPhones from the dashboard of their cars. A system that has seen great progress over the past few years, Carplay is not accessible across the globe. Which countries can use this technology? What is the situation in Japan regarding this access? Is its use widespread in Japan?

Areas where CarPlay can be used

Connected to your iPhone, Carplay allows you to make calls, play music, track your route, while staying focused on your journey. CarPlay can be controlled by a voice assistant. From then on, all you have to do is verbally state the task you want to perform with your phone's functions and it will be done. Despite the importance of this tool, it is currently only available in certain regions.
In fact, it is only operable in countries such as Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States and Japan.
Although CarPlay is usable in these countries, it is not configurable with all vehicle brands employed there: case of Japan.

The most used car brands and models in Japan

Japan is a very developed country in terms of logistics and technology. As such, there is a wide variety of vehicles, each more sophisticated than the other. The most used vehicle brands are: Mitsubishi, Subaru, Suzuki, Nissan, Honda and Daihatsu. In Japan, we can also find Acura, Datsun, Hino Infiniti, Isuzu, Lexus, Mazda, Prince, Toyota, etc.
Among these brands, only a few can allow the operation of the system.

Carplay compatibility with the most popular cars in Japan

Currently, CarPlay is operable by vehicles of many brands thus; Acura, Honda, Infiniti, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Suzuki and Toyota. Although compatible with these brands, CarPlay is not yet usable on all models of these different brands. Models that leverage CarPlay include Acura (2017-2020 NSX, 2018-2020 MDX, 2018-2020 TLX), Honda (2016-2020 Civic, 2017-2020 Ridgeline, 2017-2020 CR-V), Infiniti (2020 Q50, 2020 QX50, 2020 QX80), Nissan (2017-2020 Maxima, 2017, 2020 Micra, 2017.5-2020) Suzuki (2016-2020 Baleno, 2016-2020 Ciaz, 2016-2020 Hustler, 2016-2020 Ignis, 2016-2020 Rabbits), etc.

You can check our Carplay collection for the supported models HERE

In conclusion

CarPlay is a technology tool built into vehicles to make it easier and less risky to use phones while driving. CarPlay brings together a number of pre-installed applications to allow you to make calls, listen to music and much more. The system can be used with the most popular vehicle brands in Japan, although some models of these brands are not compatible with it.