GM announces it will also adopt Tesla’s NACS connector

Following the news that Ford will adopt Tesla’s connector, now known as the North American Charging Standard (NACS), GM is also confirming that it will adopt the charging standard.

This is likely the next step in a domino effect that should solidify NACS as the new charging standard for electric cars in North America.

When Tesla announced last year that it opened up its proprietary charging connector to try to make it the industry standard in North America, we thought it might be too little too late, despite agreeing that Tesla’s plug was a much superior design than the current CCS standard.

However, we were proven wrong last month when Ford announced that it will integrate the NACS in its future electric vehicles.

At the time, we noted that it was a step in the right direction, but that Tesla would likely need another big automaker to get the ball rolling for the standard.

GM CEO Mary Barra confirmed that General Motors will also adopt NACS with the help of Tesla in future electric vehicles.

Barra made the announcement with Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Twitter.

She said that the first vehicles with the plug will come in 2025 and like Ford, GM EV owners will all have access to Tesla’s Supercharger network starting in 2024 with a CCS to NACS adapter.

Like Ford, GM’s Bara referenced the more efficient design of Tesla’s connector and the “robustness” of Tesla’s Supercharger network as reasons to adopt the standard.

Barra added:

Our vision of the all-electric future means producing millions of world-class EVs across categories and price points, while creating an ecosystem that will accelerate mass EV adoption. This collaboration is a key part of our strategy and an important next step in quickly expanding access to fast chargers for our customers. Not only will it help make the transition to electric vehicles more seamless for our customers, but it could help move the industry toward a single North American charging standard.

During the call to make the announcement, Barra and Musk basically declared that NACS is now the standard in North America over CCS.

Electrek’s Take

That’s it; what a comeback victory for NACS. When Tesla opened the connector, I gave it very little chance of becoming the standard just because of momentum and “too little, too late”, but they proved me wrong.

It took a little while between the announcement last year and now, but with now Ford and GM on board, every charging station operator will have to adopt it, and the same goes for all other automakers producing EVs for the North American market.

This is awesome. It’s a victory for the consumer. The best connector won.

Now it will be a little messy for the next year or two, but it will clean up the EV charging industry in North America.