Honda to adopt Tesla’s EV charging technology beginning in 2025
FILE - Japanese automobile manufacturer Honda displays the electric vehicle "Honda e" during the 30th Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS) at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition (ICE) in Tangerang on August 10, 2023. (YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images)
Honda announced on Thursday that it would adopt Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) for the charging port of its electric vehicle models beginning in 2025.
"EV models the company will launch in North America before 2025, which will be equipped with a Combined Charging System (CCS) port, are also being developed to be compatible with the NACS through the use of a charging adaptor," the company said in a news release.
Ford and General Motors announced similar deals with Elon Musk-owned Tesla in June, and electric truck maker Rivian followed suit later that month.
Analysts said that Tesla’s NACS connector and cord are much lighter and easier to handle than the Combined Charging System (CCS) used by the rest of the auto industry.
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Tesla has about 17,000 Supercharger stations in the U.S. There are about 54,000 public charging stations in the U.S., according to the Department of Energy, but many charge much more slowly than the Tesla stations.
As more and more automakers switch to Tesla’s connector, experts said it appeared Tesla is on its way to becoming the industrywide standard. That would mean more revenue and a huge competitive advantage for the company, which sells more EVs than anyone else in the U.S.
Charger with Tesla logo at a Supercharger rapid battery charging station for the electric vehicle company Tesla Motors, in the Silicon Valley town of Mountain View, California, August 24, 2016. (Credit: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images).
Chargers often are located near freeways to enable long trips, where most fast-charging plugs are needed.
The addition of yet another EV maker to its charging network could rankle Tesla owners, though the Austin, Texas-based company appears to be holding back at least part of its network for exclusive use by Tesla owners, analysts say.
Earlier this year, the White House announced that at least 7,500 chargers from Tesla’s Supercharger and Destination Charger network would be available to non-Tesla electric vehicles by the end of 2024. But the rollout thus far has been slow.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. This story was reported from Los Angeles.