Almost six months after VW subsidiary Electrify America announced that it would implement the North American Charging Standard (NACS, Tesla's plug and socket design), the automaker and some of its brands are finally following suit. Here's what you need to know.
When writing, the public consensus is that Tesla's high-power charging network is more dependable than what other companies offer. Although not infallible, Supercharging didn't lead to melted ports or compromised high-voltage batteries. Tesla also didn't mislabel its pedestals, allow its stalls to be offline for longer periods, or add fast-charging expenses to random people's accounts for sessions that didn't happen.
Still, Dieselgate-born Electrify America is important. It's an integral part of the national high-power charging system that covers the US (and Canada). But VW and its many brands are arguably more important. The auto behemoth is not among the frontrunners in the race to manufacture popular all-electric vehicles. Still, it has the potential to recover and become a true menace to Tesla and an ally to our fight against global warming.
VW, Porsche, Audi, and Scout Motors are leaving behind the CCS Combo 1 port and joining the NACS party. Tesla's charging connector started its offensive with Ford and GM adopting it. Now, the avalanche continues with VW. Only Stellantis needs to jump in the boat for this thing to end once and for all.
The four brands will equip their EVs with the NACS part from 2025 onwards. Americans and Canadians who bought CCS Combo 1-equipped all-electric vehicles from one or more of the German carmakers might receive an adapter to enjoy Supercharging perks. However, it's not clear what type of adapter they will receive and if they will be discounted or free of charge.
VW says its customers and Porsche and Audi buyers will have access to a network of over 15,000 Superchargers, which should complement the 3,800 plugs Electrify America and Canada that are already live.
Photo: Volkswagen
Scout Motors doesn't have an EV on sale yet, but it's going to manufacture them with the NACS inlet from the get-go. There won't be any transitionary period. VW prepared $2 billion to transform the brand into a zero-emission off-road icon.
VW Group of America President Pablo Di Si said this change is "great news" for the marque's customers.
VW didn't say which of its models will debut the NACS port. However, it's possible that the upcoming Porsche Macan EV, the redesigned Taycan, the 718 EV, Audi's newest e-tron models, and the next-gen VW ID. units will boast the inlet. A Porsche model could be the one debuting VW's move to NACS.
The German automaker will reveal more information about the transition next year.
One of the remaining issues is that Tesla's V3 Superchargers can't fully support EVs with the 800V+ architecture. Only its V4 stalls can reach charging speeds of over 350 kW. That matters to Porsche because it intends to continue offering its buyers the perk of replenishing their high-voltage energy storage units at a faster rate. The recent spy shots revealing the Macan EV or 718 EV test mules revealed an impressive charging curve, which is paramount to supporting long-distance, zero-emission traveling.
Finally, once Stellantis adopts Tesla's charging port, the CCS Combo 1 saga is over. It will become part of our separation journey from the internal combustion engine and fossil fuels.
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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