Tesla’s NACS EV fast charging standard slower in locations than CCS

Ford and GM both recently announced plans to install Tesla NACS gates in future vehiclesand together, this could mark the beginning of a more efficient electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the United States. But things could get even more uncertain before they get better.

Ironically, the move to NACS meant that both GM and Ford abandoned a standard they helped set.

The CCS standard was started in 2011 in collaboration between American and German car manufacturers, and it was later overseen by CharIn, a group of automakers, suppliers and stakeholders. other authority. GM was the first automaker to install the CCS1 version, or SAE Combo 1, of the fast-charging standard for the US on a production vehicle—the Chevy Spark EV 2014. The BMW i3 is also one of the first vehicles to be offered in the US with standard charging.

Quick charge BMW i3 REx 2014 at Chargepoint site, June 2016 [photo: Tom Moloughney]

By the time CCS fast chargers were installed in significant numbers, in 2015 CHAdeMO fast chargers and Tesla Superchargers were much more widely available on the US West Coast. With Tesla being considered a proprietary standard, many automakers were torn between CHAdeMO and CCS, eventually landing on CCS. Volvo plugs into CCS in 2016for example, and Hyundai and Kia commit to CCS in 2018after trying a bit of both with its EV until then.

In July 2020, Nissan confirmed it was planning to give up CHAdeMO fast charging standard with its Ariya SUV crossover and switched to CCS format DC fast charging.

That, combined with the technical superiority of the CCS, with its 800 volt, 350 kw charging capacity Activate Porsche Taycanfor example, made CCS seem like the future. The same goes for the move of Tesla to CCS in Europe.

Tesla turbocharger

That said, in 2023, there are still three fast-charging standards for electric vehicles in the United States: CHAdeMO, CCS, and Tesla (also known as NACS, or North American Charging System). And when NACS switches to V4, it can soon charge 800V vehicles originally intended for CCS at top speed.

Only two new vehicles will be sold with the CHAdeMO fast charging port: Leaf Nissan and Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-In Hybrid.

Among EVs, it’s unlikely there will be a single new EV with a CHAdeMO port in the middle of the decade before the current Leaf is expected to be discontinued. A successor is likely to be made starting in 2026.

But between CCS and NACS, that leaves two fast-charging standards for electric cars for the foreseeable future. This is how they compare now in the number of ports in the US

Tesla (NACS) vs CHAdeMO vs CCS – US Alternative Fuels Data Center, 6/16/2023

Ford and GM move towards a new standard that has far fewer charging stations than the current/old standard.

According to this Department of Energy’s current data, there are more fast charging stations offering CCS connectors—5,235 for CCS, compared with 1,803 for Tesla connectors.

Technically, the DOE places it at the ports, not the connectors — representing the number of vehicles that can be charged simultaneously.

That said, there are more Tesla/NACS ports in the US than all the CHAdeMO and CCS ports combined.

Green Car Reports has reviewed this balance of each standard on a regular basis over the years. About two years ago, CCS still hadn’t caught up with CHAdeMO in terms of number of stations. Two years earlier, in 2019, CHAdeMO is still the clear winner against CCS. A year earlier, in 2020, CHAdMO was still the champion in terms of station availability, while it started to lag by storefront.

Electrify America Hardware with CCS and CHAdeMO – Hood River, Oregon – July 2020

The CHAdeMO connector, which fully charges off-road Nissan Leafs and some other used electric vehicles, provides nearly all the connectors. And while most CHAdeMO connectors don’t charge above 50 kW (a limited number of them charge at 125 kW), there are many more stations that offer them than Tesla connectors.

The past week has brought a host of charging hardware and network manufacturers including—to many degrees—the NACS standard. Stellantis may also be on board soon. It says Reuters this last week: “At this point, we continue to evaluate the NACS standard and look forward to further discussion in the future,”

The White House has yet to clarify whether and how CCS adapters for NACS will demonstrate interoperability in order. for Tesla or other operators to prioritize NACS to mine federal fundsand the Joint Office explaining the rules for federally funded charging infrastructure have yet to respond to detailed requests.

Aptera uses Tesla NACS . connector

CharIn, the team behind CCS, last week released a statement claiming that “NACS is not yet a standard and does not provide an open charging ecosystem for the industry to build on.” It proposes that NACS be included in a standard process through the team — a requirement that, given Tesla’s control over its standard, is considered superior because of its relative simplicity, which seems difficult. happen.

While the future of standards itself may still be tumultuous, Tesla won, and we now know what an American charging port looks like.