Some would say that "another one bites the dust," but that would be an inaccurate statement, to say the least. Honda realizes it must follow in its competitor's footsteps if it targets survival in the EV era, and, fortunately, it just did that. The brand signed an agreement with Tesla to implement the North American Charging Standard (NACS) port on its all-electric vehicles (that aren't on sale yet). Here's the gist of it.
Not so long ago, we told you about Honda and Acura wanting to join the list of automakers that manufacture EVs with Tesla's connector. American Honda Motor President and CEO Noriya Kaihara admitted it was something they had "to push" when the all-new ZDX was launched.
Now, here we are – Honda is jumping on the NACS bandwagon. Acura will most likely follow suit, but there's no official announcement about it when writing.
But Honda had it easy. It's not selling any EVs yet. The GM-made Prologue hasn't been officially introduced. However, the brand confirmed that it will put the NACS port on its EV models starting in 2025. That's also when the marque plans to launch a new EV.
The upcoming Prologue will be equipped with the CCS Combo 1 until 2025, just as General Motors currently does with the Chevrolet Blazer EV. Both vehicles are produced in Mexico. Honda promised that the Prologue would be compatible with NACS-equipped fast chargers by using an adaptor.
It has not, however, struck a deal with Tesla about early access to the high-power charging network as Ford did. Honda also didn't say if it will provide the said adapter at no charge to its customers who will get its EVs sporting the CCS Combo 1 port.
Photo: Honda
Honda remains a serious player in the automotive industry despite the sluggish investment in adding EVs to its roster. It has recently announced a joint venture with General Motors, Stellantis, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, and Mercedes-Benz that aims to create an Ionity-like high-power charging network for all EVs that will boast both NACS- and CCS-equipped stalls.
But there are some late adopter advantages. For example, it doesn't have to redesign everything and overhaul its manufacturing operations. The deal with GM is a blessing in disguise. The Japanese marque can wait until the industry figures out the best path forward and starts making dependable EVs with the latest technology at the right time. If it manages to figure out great pricing policies, it's guaranteed at least a minor win.
"Honda will continue offering a reliable and convenient charging environment for its customers to achieve widespread EV adoption and support Honda's efforts to realize carbon neutrality," concluded the automaker.
The NACS party is in full swing, and, by the looks of it, Tesla's slimmer and simpler port, cord, and charger design helped it gain hundreds of thousands of customers in just a couple of months. That explains why the investments in the Supercharger network continue at a high pace.
Finally, other automakers like Porsche, Lucid, and Hyundai will have a hard time signing an agreement with Tesla. Their EVs boast the 800V architecture, which isn't fully compatible with V2 and V3 Supercharger stalls. They charge best at places like Electrify America, which has 350-kW DC fast chargers.
Tesla has introduced V4 Superchargers that can work with 800V-developed EVs, but it has capped their output at 250 kW, just like the V3 stalls.
Car shows on TV and his father's Fiat Tempra may have been Florin's early influences, but nowadays he favors different things, like the power of an F-150 Raptor. He'll never be able to ignore the shape of a Ferrari though, especially a yellow one. Full profile
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