Volvo is the first European automaker to commit to Tesla charging plug, and now the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and the Biden administration are putting it on the road to becoming official standards.
Earlier this week, Volvo confirmed it would join Ford, GM and Rivian in using the Tesla-developed North American Charging Standard plug.
Like other manufacturers, all existing Volvo electric cars — now the XC40 and C40, and the upcoming EX90 and EX30 — will be able to access Tesla Supercharger stations across North America from the first half of 2024 via an adapter to be built-in. CCS port.
From 2025 Volvo EVs sold in Canada, the United States and Mexico will be equipped with NACS ports as standard. These NACS-equipped Volvos can still access CCS chargers, but require an adapter.
The location and status of Tesla’s 12,000 Supercharger points will be integrated into Volvo’s in-car software and smartphone app.
With Tesla having won over some of its competitors, and nearly every North American public charging network except Volkswagen’s Electrify America, SAE has put NACS on an “accelerated timeline” to live up to its name and actually become a standard.
Once it becomes standard, NACS should be less tied to Tesla. According to SAE, once NACS becomes standard “any supplier or manufacturer will be able to use, manufacture or use NACS connectors on electric vehicles”.
Tesla has been trying to convince other automakers to use its charging ports for about a year, but with little success until Ford jumped in at the end of May 2023, triggering a snowball effect.
With NACS set to become the official standard, it will likely pave the way for Tesla to obtain US government funding from the Biden administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Act to build and expand its Supercharger network, which is currently limited to CCS chargers.
The US administration said opening up NACS to “other suppliers and manufacturers” has “the potential to dramatically increase the size, reliability and availability of an operable charging network supported by recognized industry standards”.
Since 2017, CCS Type 2 chargers have become standard across the European Union, and are used by all automakers there, including Tesla.