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North America Charging Standard (NACS) Announcements
In North America, there are two popular types of cords or connectors for fast charging electric vehicles (EVs): the Combined Charging System (CCS) and the North American Charging Standard (NACS). Most electric cars in North America, except for Tesla, use the CCS connector, while a handful of vehicles like Nissan use the CHAdeMO connector. Tesla uses its own connector, called the NACS, which has historically been proprietary.
While both connectors serve the same function, the NACS connector can handle more power, which means it can charge a car even faster. The NACS connector is also a bit smaller and lighter than the CCS connector.
In November 2022, Tesla decided to open-source its proprietary NACS connector design to make it available to other automakers. This means that in the future, you might see more electric cars using the NACS connector and a move towards standardized charging cords across all vehicles.
As of November 28, 2023, the following automakers have announced that they will adopt the NACS for their EVs sold in the North American market:
- Tesla: Tesla has used the NACS connector on all its North American market vehicles since 2012
- Genesis Motor North America: Beginning in the U.S. in late 2024 and in Canada in 2025
- BMW Group: Beginning in 2025
- Fisker: Beginning in 2025
- General Motors: Beginning in 2025
- Honda: Beginning in 2025
- Hyundai Motor Group (which includes Hyundai and Kia): Beginning in 2025
- Jaguar Land Rover: Beginning in 2025
- Lucid Motors: Beginning in 2025
- Mercedes-Benz: Beginning in 2025
- Nissan: Beginning in 2025
- Polestar: Beginning in 2025
- Rivian: Beginning in 2025
- Subaru: Beginning in 2025
- Toyota: Beginning in 2025
- Volvo Cars: Beginning in 2025.
It is important to note that some of these automakers may offer adapters that allow their EVs to be charged with the CCS connector as well as the NACS. However, the NACS connector could become the dominant standard for charging EVs in North America in the coming years.
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