Soon, new EVs made by Scout Motors, Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, and VW will be able to charge at Tesla stations without a converter.
The North American Charging Standard (NACS) will shortly be adopted by Volkswagen Auto Group subsidiaries Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, and Scout Motors. With this adoption, electric vehicles manufactured by the German manufacturers would be able to charge at Tesla’s 15,000 Superchargers.
The announcement is in line with the industry’s general shift toward electric vehicles (EVs). As companies like Volkswagen concentrate on designing, manufacturing, and selling electric options, they have to address common inquiries from prospective EV converts about where to charge. Volkswagen AG vehicles, like most non-Tesla EVs, have ports that are compatible with the Combined Charging System (CCS) standard. Currently, this is not an issue, but as the White House advocates for the standardization of EV chargers—and supports SAE International’s validation of Tesla’s NACS as a new standard—CCS chargers may become rare.
Volkswagen AG will be able to reach a wider range of US and Canadian consumers by implementing NACS by altering its charging technology. New Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche EVs will have a NACS charging port by 2025. Scout Motors will also implement NACS at the same time that it begins selling its first electric trucks and SUVs.
Scout Motors president and CEO Scott Keogh stated, “We are designing our new vehicles with our future customers in mind. By integrating NACS connectors into our vehicles from the start, we will provide Scout customers with access to a vast and rapidly growing fast-charging network spanning North America.”
In the meantime, Volkswagen AG is working on offering adapters to those who already own its CCS-compatible EVs. Electrify America and Electrify Canada, the companies behind 3,800 CCS chargers currently used by Volkswagen AG customers, have agreed to start offering the NACS connector at charging stations in 2025. Neither company will stop supporting CCS.
Naturally, the company’s standards would start to dominate US charging infrastructure; if that trend continues, other automakers like Mercedes-Benz, which is forming its own charging network, could start a similar transition. Not only does Tesla sell the most popular EVs in the world, but it also makes the first EV to top global vehicle sales charts.