The dominoes continue to fall as Nissan pledges to adopt the NACS port by 2025.
Tesla’s North American Charging Standard continues to gain traction, as Nissan announces its intent to join several other manufacturers in adopting the technology. Like those other companies — including Ford, GM, Mercedes-Benz, Rivian, Polestar and Volvo at the moment — Nissan will incorporate the port in part to accelerate a mass-market switch to electric cars.
“We are happy to provide access to thousands more fast chargers for Nissan EV drivers, adding confidence and convenience when planning long-distance journeys,” said Nissan Americas chairperson Jérémie Papin.
The automaker plans to equip the Ariya and future models with the Tesla-developed port starting in 2025. The move comes as part of Nissan’s larger goal to transition 40% of its U.S. market share to EVs by 2030. Beyond the Ariya, two new electric models are on the docket for its Canton, Mississippi plant in late 2025.
Why Tesla, and why now?
We’re facing an industry-wide shift toward NACS, as automakers more or less move in lockstep to incorporate the technology into its future vehicles after Ford announced its customers would gain access to the 12,000-plus station Supercharger network in late May. In the meantime, manufacturers including Nissan plan to supply charging adapters for Ariya models equipped with the CCS port, developed by the Society of Automotive Engineers to try and lock down a North America-wide charging standard.
Right now, though, Tesla’s network comprises the majority of DC fast charging stations. The U.S. Department of Energy noted earlier this year that Superchargers account for about 60% of all available fast chargers in the country. Tesla can take advantage of billions of dollars in federal subsidies to further expand that network, as the Biden administration aims to encourage EV purchases. It can also pull in revenues from non-Tesla owners charging on its network, which is a particularly important consideration to offset the remaining costs that may not be covered by subsidized expansion.
That’s not to say the CCS port and connector will suddenly disappear, though, as the White House said on June 9 that charging stations would only be eligible for subsidies if they included CCS ports alongside NACS ports. That’s why Electrify America, for its part, will continue to include both, even as it adopts rival Tesla’s charging standard.
Nissan will announce more details on its NACS rollout in the coming months. At time of writing, Hyundai and Stellantis are ‘considering’ also adopting the standard in its future vehicles.
