The North American Charging Standard (NACS) is the New Standard for EVs in the U.S. After 8 Years and a Half

It feels like it was once again when it came to electric vehicle charging standards. Ford announced last month that it was adopting the North American Charging Standard (NACS) for its future vehicles. GeneralMotors, the largest auto manufacturer in North America, said yesterday it was following suit. It’s said that Ford,Tesla, and GM represent over 70% of the US EV market.

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.

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EV Magic Dock Stations: Why the government is so frustrated with the electric car charging problem? An inside look at the GM, Ford, and The Verge

Tesla was already on its way to making its DC fast charging Supercharger stations interoperable with other non-Tesla EVs. The solution is to have stations that can pop out with the use of the app. If there are more than one manufacturer in the NACS, it is likely that Magic Dock stations will be built regardless of whether they are funded by the Biden administration or not.

“I’m guessing that lobbyists from GM and Ford are talking DOE to get those rules changed ASAP,” Guidehouse Insights principle research analyst Sam Abuelsamid tells The Verge in an email. The government’s EV rules will not be changed if automakers persuade the government to change them.

Tesla owners all get a J1772 adapter included with their cars, allowing them to additionally access over 53,000 Level 2 stations in North America. Meanwhile, other EV owners would need to find an aftermarket adapter solution if they wanted to use a public Tesla AC wall connector or destination charger.

Musk doesn’t like the idea of NACS being capable of charging by itself. He mentioned in March of last year that homes will go dark when unplugged. Ford may want to keep its bidirectional CCS port on the Lightning to make sure its current home backup-capable charger keeps working. But having two ports, both CCS and NACS, on one car might become costly, complicated, or prone to damage.

“Behind cost, consumers’ biggest concern when considering an EV purchase involves charging as it’s an overwhelming unknown to so many,” Edmunds executive director of insights Jessica Caldwell tells The Verge. For electric cars to truly take off, consumers need to know that they have plenty of charging locations to turn to, so they don’t get stranded on the side of the road.