We may be in the midst of the CCS EV charging port going the way of the dinosaur. One of the biggest obstacles for EV adoption is the charging infrastructure in North America. There just aren’t enough charging stations and those that exist aren’t the most reliable. Then there’s the different charging ports and the various adapters. It’s been long understood that Tesla’s charging network is by far the most reliable and is a large reason why EV buyers still consider Tesla vehicles over the competition. The problem is that Tesla uses a NACS (North American Charging Standard) port while other EVs are charged with CCS, and despite Tesla’s naming, there isn’t a standard, but we’re appear to be approaching one.
“Beginning in 2025, the first GM EVs will be built with a NACS inlet for direct access to Tesla Superchargers without an adapter. In the future, GM will make adapters available for drivers of NACS-enabled vehicles to allow charging on CCS-capable fast charge stations,” GM said in its statement. The automaker said starting next year in 2024, GM will offer adapters so that its CCS equipped EVs can use Tesla superchargers. That is the same rollout Ford is adopting in its partnership with Tesla.
GM didn’t specify which of its brands would be the first to make the jump to NACS but if we had to make a guess, we’d say the upcoming Chevrolet Blazer EV and Equinox EV are likely candidates. With the Bolt EV and Bolt EUV on the way out, Chevrolet’s next volume EV sporting the NACS port can’t be understated. This makes two of the big three committing to NACS charging ports in their EVs by 2025. If Hyundai and Kia, another early pioneer of high-quality and practical EVs, follow Ford and GM’s lead, it may just be the death knell for CCS.
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