Many thought it would not ever happen; members of the Big Three and Tesla working together. But lo and behold, both GMC and Ford announced that they would integrate Tesla’s charging standard in their future electric vehicles. Stellantis is still working on a response and will make a statement in the near future.
“I think we have a real opportunity here to really drive this to be the unified standard for North America, which I think will even enable more mass adoption,” said Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors. “Starting in 2025, our next generation of EVs will be equipped with Tesla’s charge port called the North American Charging Standard (NACS).”
As of today, there are two charging ports: NACS for Tesla and the CCS (Combined Charging System) for all other EVs. If comparing, the Tesla charging connector is more compact, easier to use and has better performance. While Telsa chargers were historically only available for Tesla vehicles, last year, Elon Musk made moves to establish NACS as the new standard for North America by sharing the company’s EV charging connector design with network operators and other auto manufacturers.
“This really will even the playing field,” said Musk. “I think people should feel comfortable buying a Tesla, GMC or Ford vehicle, and we will provide support equally to all three. So, the most important thing is we advance the electric vehicles revolution.”
By Spring 2024, Barra says that owners of GMC vehicles with CCS charge ports will be able to access adapters to use the Tesla chargers. “Once all GMC vehicles are built with the NACS standard, owners will still be able to access CCS chargers through a different adapter,” added Barra.
While only GMC and Ford have made this announcement, other auto manufacturers’ responses are varied. Hyundai said it will continue to evaluate its technology; Kia, Nissan and Toyota declined to comment at this time; and Volkswagen says it’s still committed to the CCS standard.
