The trend continues as Honda became the latest automaker to adopt Tesla’s charging standard for its EVs coming in 2025.
Now known as the North American Charging Standard, Tesla’s supercharger network will be available to Honda and Acura EV owners even before then as the company plans to develop a charging adapter for its vehicles using the Combined Charging System (CCS) port before then.
After that, the company’s EVs will come equipped with the Tesla-based charging port.
Honda recently announced it was joining a cohort of seven other automakers to establish a joint venture to build a high-powered charging network for EVs with the aim of building a reliable charging infrastructure.
How did we get here?
In November 2021, Tesla started a trial program to share its Supercharger network with other EV makers in the Netherlands. The program kicked off in the middle of 2022 and spurred interest in other countries.
The catalyst for the move in the U.S. was the move by the Biden administration in February to strike a deal with Tesla to open up at least 7,500 of its Superchargers to non-Tesla battery-electric vehicles by the end of next year. The deal between the two was part of the $7.5 billion plan included in a 2021 infrastructure bill.
Higher charging speeds and station reliability are strong draws for users. While automakers were initially content to use the CCS connectors, the tide began to turn in late Spring. The turn was complete when Ford announced in late May ts EV owners will be able to purchase an adaptor allowing them to connect to the unique plug used by Tesla’s NACS network.
Starting in 2025, however, Ford will equip its vehicles with the port used by Tesla, switching from the Combined Charging System (CCS) connector it currently uses. Ford CEO John Lawler noted Ford’s investment in its deal with Tesla is negligible, but it offers considerable benefit to the company’s EV customers in the future.
General Motors followed Ford’s move two weeks later, and will use the same strategy as Ford, initially offering adapters before making the NACS port standard on its 2025 EVs.