Mere days after seeing Hyundai and Kia EVs charging at Tesla Superchargers, all three of the brands under the Hyundai Motor Group umbrella have confirmed a pivot to the North American Charging Standard (NACS).
This morning’s news comes as more of an “of course” rather than a surprise, as Hyundai Motor Group is by no means the first legacy automaker to publicly announce it will adopt the EV charging standard originally created by American automaker Tesla.
While the true originator behind support for NACS was solar EV startup Aptera, a reality in which Tesla’s charging plug could become the go-to method of connecting didn’t gain true momentum until Ford Motor Company announced it was onboard. GM quickly followed suit and the flood gates were opened.
We’ve since seen nearly every automaker selling EVs in North America adopt the standard, including Rivian, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Nissan, Volkswagen Group, and even Jaguar. This past June, after Tesla opened up its Supercharger network and NACS plug to all, Hyundai shared that it would need to look into the standard from “a customers perspective” before making a decision.
That decision appeared clearly made last week, when images emerged of a photoshoot taking place at a Tesla Supercharger that showcased both a Hyundai IONIQ 5 and the new Kia EV9. At that point, it was safe to say an NACS announcement from Hyundai was imminent, but you never know until you actually know.
Today we know. The Korean automaker will officially adopt NACS.
Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis officially join NACS
This morning, Hyundai USAand luxury sub-brand Genesis put out simultaneous press releases confirming the adoption of the North American Charging Standard, enabling easier access to 12,000 piles on the Supercharger network. Kia soon followed. Per Hyundai president, global COO, and Hyundai North America president and CEO José Muñoz:
Our collaboration with Tesla marks another milestone in our commitment to delivering exceptional EV experiences to our customers. This new alliance will provide Hyundai EV owners confidence in their ability to conveniently charge their vehicles and complements our joint venture company to create a new, high-powered charging network with at least 30,000 stations across North America.
Beginning in Q4 of 2024, US customers purchasing new Hyundai EVs will find the NACS port with access to reach Canadian customers in the first half of 2025. Existing Hyundai customers driving EVs with the current CCS port should gain access to the Tesla Supercharger network in Q1 2025 via an adapter that will be rolled out.
Both Kia and Genesis shared the same timeline for the NACS port adoption as well the adapters for CCS EV owners. One company currently left out is Kia, a member of Hyundai Motor Group that was also spotted in the recent photoshoot in Southern California.
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