Ford has announced that in North America, starting in Spring 2024, it will get access to Tesla’s supercharger network using an adapter that will be sent to all owners. Following this it will integrate the Tesla connector into its new electric vehicles, allowing them to charge at Tesla charging stations without an adapter.
Whilst Tesla’s charging connector is proprietary, it recently renamed it to “NACS”, which stands for North American Charging Standard, and in November 2022 declared it open for use to charging network operators and vehicle manufacturers without its permission.
Ford’s adoption of Tesla’s charging connector in North America is a significant move and could result in a domino effect with other vehicle brands. Up to this point, there had been an ongoing shift towards standarisation around the CCS connector for DC fast charging. In contrast, Tesla’s connector is twice as powerful, offering AC charging as well as DC charging up to 1MW.
The widespread future rollout of either Tesla or CCS charging connectors in North America now depends on whether the other large OEMs decide to follow suit and adopt in their electric vehicles. SAR’s EV Charging Service forecasts the public charging station rollout in more than 50 countries globally by connector type across the next 10 years.
