VW plans Tesla to adopt its EV charging standard

The news comes as many automakers and charging equipment makers have opted for Tesla’s charging design because they fear losing customers if they only offer the Combined Charging System (CCS) design, which is popular with Volkswagen. And the support of automakers such as Hyundai Motor. Over the past few weeks, companies including Ford, General Motors and ChargePoint have signed on to use Tesla’s charging design.

“The Volkswagen Group and its brands are currently evaluating the implementation of Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) for its North American customers,” Volkswagen said.

Electrify America, Volkswagen’s electric vehicle charging network unit, has more than 850 charging stations and about 4,000 chargers in the United States and Canada.

During the NACS transition period, Electrify America will continue to provide the widely used CCS connectors.

Meanwhile, Tesla has expanded beyond connectors to include CCS in some of its U.S. charging stations as the Biden administration seeks to provide billions of dollars in subsidies to expand the charging network.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Tesla’s Superchargers account for about 60% of the total number of fast charging stations in the United States.

The companies’ NACS transition decisions have shaken up the electric vehicle charging industry, which may switch to rival CCS connections with the help of federal subsidies.

Separately, Polestar has signed a deal with Tesla to provide its charging network to the Swedish electric carmaker’s customers in the United States and Canada.

First published date: Jun 30, 2023 at 09:32 AM EST