The switch from the Combined Charging System (CCS1) to the North American Charging Standard (NACS) EV charging connector in North America appears to gain momentum every week.
As we know, even the Charging Interface Initiative (CharIN) association, which stands behind the CCS (CCS1 and CCS2) as well as MCS charging standards, announced on June 12 that it could help with making the NACS a proper standard.
The organization, which has more than 320 members, has created an open task force to align requirements with the goal of submitting NACS to the standardization process.
According to a blog post from about a week ago, the open group included 51 companies within about 10 days (currently the number might be higher).
The list included several EV manufacturers - BMW Group, Ford, General Motors, Hyundai-Kia, Jaguar Land Rover, Lucid, Mercedes-Benz, Proterra (buses), Stellantis, Toyota, VinFast, and Volvo Cars.
Interestingly, at least in the first days of collecting companies interested in an open conversation about NACS, Tesla - which is a CharIN member too - was not present. Also Volkswagen Group was missing, but at least one of its companies, Electrify America singed up:
· ABB E-mobility
· AMPECO
· APTIV
· Atlis/Nxu
· BMW Group
· BMW of North America
· BTCPower
· EcoG
· eDRV Inc
· ElectricFish Energy Inc.
· Electrify America
· Emerald Valley Electric Vehicle Association
· EV Range
· EVgo
· Fermata Energy
· FLO
· Ford
· General Motors
· Hyundai Kefico
· Hyundai-Kia America Technical Center, Inc
· i-charging USA
· InCharge Energy
· IoTecha
· Jaguar Land Rover
· JLR TBSI Pvt Ltd
· Keysight Technologies Deutschland GmbH
· Lucid Motors
· Lumissil Microsystems
· Mercedes-Benz AG
· Mercedes-Benz Research & Development N.A
· New York Power Authority
· PACCAR
· PIONIX GmbH
· Proterra
· Prysmian Group
· Qualcomm
· SE
· Siemens
· Silla SRL
· Solutions30
· Stellantis
· TDN Solutions Technology LLC
· TE Connectivity
· Toyota Motor North America
· UL Solutions
· Vertexcom Technologies Inc.
· VESTEL
· VinFast Auto
· Volvo Car USA
We are not sure whether Tesla is interested in CharIN's assist - as the organization initially criticized the switch to NACS. Meanwhile, SAE International announced that it will standardize the NACS charging connector for the EV industry.
Nonetheless, as Ford, General Motors, Rivian and Volvo announced a switch to the NACS charging connector in North America, starting in 2025, the spread of NACS appears to be just a matter of time.
