If you don’t consider Tesla the dominant fast-charging provider in America, you might soon. GM announced that it will collaborate with Tesla to use the North American Charging Standard, or NACS for short, for its future EVs. For those unaware, NACS is Tesla’s proprietary charging connector.
This move allows GM EV drivers access to Tesla’s 12,000 Supercharger locations across North America and comes just a few days after Ford committed to joining Tesla’s Supercharger network through a similar setup.
Now with two major U.S. automakers signing onto Tesla’s charging standard, the NACS could seriously be the default standard for most American drivers, potentially spurring a snowball effect that allows Tesla to maximize its dominance over America’s EV charging network.
BUILDING EVS WITH NACS
More specifically, Tesla’s Supercharger network will be open to GM EVs starting in 2024, with the caveat of requiring an adapter. The adapters will likely be Tesla’s Magic Dock that it has been installing in certain Supercharger locations to allow non-Tesla EVs to charge. This will add a sizable chunk of charging locations across North America to GM’s existing network of 134,000 chargers in its Ultium Charge 360 initiative.
In 2025, GM will actually build its EVs with a NACS connector to allow drivers to directly hook up to Tesla Superchargers without the need for an adapter. Still, GM says its future NACS-equipped EVs will still get adapters that allow for the use of existing CCS fast chargers. GM is also going to integrate the Tesla Supercharger network into its in-vehicle and mobile apps to make it easier for drivers to get to a charging station.
A NEW INDUSTRY STANDARD
Mary Barra, chair and CEO of GM, said in a press release that GM signing onto Tesla’s charging design could “help move the industry toward a single North American charging standard.” That stands in opposition to the CCS connector that is still supported by many carmakers, like BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Polestar, Rivian, and Volkswagen.
Still, GM adopting Tesla’s charging standard will likely accelerate the adoption of EVs since the availability of charging infrastructure seems to be a sticking point for potential converts. Adding 12,000 charging locations should go a long way in addressing concerns about longer trips or not enough charging stations with more EVs on the road. For Tesla, this is all going according to plan ever since it open-sourced its Supercharger design back in December.
