CCS1 To Tesla NACS Charging Connector Transition

CCS1 To Tesla NACS Charging Connector Transition

Multiple electric vehicle manufacturers, charging networks, and charging equipment suppliers in North America are now evaluating the use of Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) charging connector.

NACS was developed by Tesla in-house and used as a proprietary charging solution for both AC and DC charging. On November 11, 2022, Tesla announced the opening of the standard and the NACS name, with a plan that this charging connector will become a continent-wide charging standard.

At the time, the entire EV industry (besides Tesla) was using the SAE J1772 (Type 1) charging connector for AC charging and its DC-extended version – the Combined Charging System (CCS1) charging connector for DC charging. CHAdeMO, used initially by some of the manufacturers for DC charging, is an outgoing solution.

In May 2023 things accelerated when Ford announced the switch from CCS1 to NACS, starting with next-generation models in 2025. That move annoyed the Charging Interface Initiative (CharIN) association, which is responsible for CCS. Within two weeks, in June 2023, General Motors announced a similar move, which was considered a death sentence for CCS1 in North America.

As of mid-2023, two of the largest North American vehicle manufacturers (General Motors and Ford) and the largest all-electric car manufacturer (Tesla, with a 60-plus percent share in the BEV segment) are committed to NACS. This move caused an avalanche, as more and more EV companies are now joining the NACS coalition. While we were wondering who might be next, CharIN announced support for the NACS standardization process (over 51 companies signed-up in the first 10 days or so).

Most recently, Rivian, Volvo Cars, Polestar, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Fisker, Honda and Jaguar announced the switch to NACS, starting in 2025. Hyundai, Kia and Genesis announced that the switch will start in Q4 2024. The latest companies that have confirmed the switch are BMW Group, Toyota, Subaru and Lucid.

SAE International announced on June 27, 2023, that it will standardize the Tesla-developed North American Charging Standard (NACS) charging connector – SAE NACS.

The potential ultimate scenario might be the replacement of the J1772 and CCS1 standards with NACS, although there will be a transition period when all types will be used on the infrastructure side. Currently, US charging networks will have to include CCS1 plugs to be eligible for public funds – this also includes the Tesla Supercharging network.

On July 26, 2023, seven BEV manufacturers – BMW Group, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis – announced that they will create in North America a new fast-charging network (under a new joint venture and without a name yet) that will operate at least 30,000 individual chargers. The network will be compatible with both CCS1 and NACS charging plugs and is expected to offer an elevated customer experience. The first stations will be launched in the US in the summer of 2024.

Charging equipment suppliers are also preparing for the switch from CCS1 to NACS by developing NACS-compatible components. Huber+Suhner announced that its Radox HPC NACS solution will be unveiled in 2024, while the prototypes of the plug will be available for field testing and validation in the first quarter. We also saw a different plug design shown by ChargePoint.