Volkswagen to Adopt Tesla NACS Charger? VW Already in Talks, Follows Electrify America

Isaiah Richard, Tech Times 06 July 2023, 12:07 am

The next company to possibly adopt the renowned North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector is Volkswagen, and the famed German car brand recently confirmed that it is in talks with Tesla regarding this. More and more automakers are looking to adopt the Tesla NACS for their electric vehicles, popularized by other massive brands in the industry.

So far, Ford, General Motors, Volvo, Rivian, and Polestar have announced their adoption of the renowned charging standard for North America.

Volkswagen is In Talks to Adopt the Tesla NACS Charger

(Photo : Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Reuters reported that as early as the end of June, Volkswagen is in talks with Tesla regarding its adoption of the NACS charger for its application in the German car company's EVs. This is a massive leap for Volkswagen especially as it used a Type 2 charger or a CCS connector, depending on where they would hook their car up for power.

As per The Verge, Volkswagen confirmed in a statement that it is already in talks with the Texas-based company for the NACS standard.

"We welcome access to additional charging infrastructure for our North American customers and always aim for improving the charging experience via open standards and seamless interoperability," Michael Steiner, extended executive board member and responsible for development at the Volkswagen Group.

VW to Follow Electrify America's NACS Adoption?

Volkswagen's massive leap to opening up talks for Tesla's NACS is massive, especially as it is not an entirely new venture for the company. Its subsidiary, the renowned charging stations operator, Electrify America, has also announced its plans to add NACS chargers for its charging stations alongside its existing infrastructure all over North America, come 2025.

Tesla NACS and its Growing Users

Electric vehicles are growing in numbers out on the streets, and automakers are staying true to their pledges regarding the clean energy changes for the transportation industry. However, there are still different charging options out there which may divide different brands and charging stations for the public, hence Tesla's venture to establish the North American Charging Standard or NACS.

Two of Tesla's competitors in the North American region, General Motors, and Ford, have already announced their partnership with the clean energy company from Elon Musk to bring this to its users. For existing cars, they would get a NACS adapter that would enable charging stations to connect to any ports found in their vehicles, but come 2024, GM pledges that it would use the NACS port for charging.

NACS adoption is already growing in the present, and it is likely that more manufacturers follow suit, to adhere to one North American standard for all EV charging needs shortly. However, it does not stop there, as the global automotive company, Volkswagen, is currently in talks and evaluating a possible future where its EVs are also charging via NACS.