GM to integrate Tesla NACS in new EVs starting in 2025
09 June 2023
General Motors announced a collaboration with Tesla to integrate Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector design into its EVs beginning in 2025. Additionally, the collaboration will expand access to charging for GM EV drivers at 12,000 Tesla Superchargers, and growing, throughout North America.
This agreement complements GM’s ongoing investments in charging, reinforcing the company’s focus on expanding charging access across home, workplace, and public spaces and builds on the more than 134,000 chargers available to GM EV drivers today through the company’s Ultium Charge 360 initiative and mobile apps.
Ford announced a similar collaboration in May. (Earlier post.)
The Tesla Supercharger Network will be open to GM EV drivers starting in 2024 and will initially require the use of an adapter. 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 will also integrate the Tesla Supercharger Network into its vehicle and mobile apps, helping drivers quickly and easily locate, pay for, and initiate charging at available Tesla Superchargers. This will complement the charging experience at the growing Ultium Charge 360 Network of charging stations, as well as additional charging stations GM makes available through existing integrations with other charging networks.
GM continues to work with others in the industry to accelerate the installation of home, work and public charging as part of its Ultium Charge 360 initiative. This includes collaborations with Pilot Company and EVgo that will add more than 5,000 DC fast chargers to the nearly 13,000 existing DC fast chargers in North America, as well as the deployment of community chargers throughout the US and Canada. These initiatives, combined with this new collaboration with Tesla, will offer GM customers access to one of the largest integrated networks of high-power charging stations in North America.
Ouch! It looks like the North American charging infrastructure will be a mess for a very long while, with public and private networks, non-standard plugs, and mandatory dongles.
It should be obvious at this point that the EU got it right by imposing a single fast charging standard.
It will be even worse in Canada, of course, since we barely have any Tesla fast chargers. Now two of the top automotive brands will offer cars that can't be fast-charged anywhere without an expensive (and clumsy) adapter.
It isn't good for home chargers either. Many families will need to install two chargers, even if they never charge two cars at the same time.
Posted by: Bernard | 09 June 2023 at 10:55 AM