Stellantis will adopt the Tesla-style North American Charging System plug for its electric cars in 2025. The move makes Stellantis the last major automaker to make the switch, effectively moving the automotive industry to a single charging port.
Stellantis brands include Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Chrysler, Alfa Romeo, and Fiat. All plan to have electric vehicles (EVs) on the market within a few years.
The company says EVs it builds in 2025 and after will have the Tesla-style port built in. It will make adapters available for vehicles built before then.
Square Pegs and Round Holes
EVs for sale in 2024 come with one of three different charging ports. They’re not interchangeable. Each requires its own cord and plug.
RELATED: Electric Car Charging: Everything You Need to Know
That’s not as big a problem as it sounds. Most EV owners do most of their charging at home.
But, on longer trips, they need to use networks of public chargers. Not every charger works with every car. That can leave drivers hunting for a match.
Until recently, Tesla’s standard socket (the North American Charging Standard) was found only on Tesla cars. The company built a nationwide network of chargers to support Tesla owners.
Most other automakers use a different port called the Combined Charging System (CCS). A patchwork of charging networks offers CCS chargers. But, put together, all those networks don’t match the reach of Tesla’s. They can also be frustrating to use. Studies have found many of those networks unreliable.
The Nissan Leaf and a handful of out-of-production electric cars like the Kia Soul EV and Mitsubishi i-MiEV use a third plug, called CHAdeMO. CHAdeMO chargers are even harder to find in most parts of the country. But those drivers can use CCS chargers with an adapter.
Earlier this year, the problem grew annoying enough for the industry to converge on one solution.
First, Ford negotiated the right to use the Tesla charging plug for its EVs. GM quickly followed. SAE, formerly the Society of Automotive Engineers, agreed to administer the Tesla port as a standard for the industry.
One by one, nearly every automaker has signed on. Stellantis was the last major automaker to make the switch. Its move effectively means the industry has agreed on a single plug shape.
This Doesn’t Mean Tesla Runs Every Charger
The move means nearly every EV sold in America in 2025 will have Tesla’s NACS charging port and be able to plug into Tesla’s chargers.
It doesn’t, however, mean other charging networks will go away. They will likely adopt the NACS cord themselves. Electrify America, the country’s second-largest network operator, recently began adding the Tesla NACS cord to its chargers.
Most networks will likely offer both NACS and CCS plugs for many years, as they’ll want to be able to serve every EV on the road.
Tesla Superchargers May Not All Serve Stellantis Cars
While building the NACS port into its cars will help Stellantis match other brands, it may not have taken a crucial step most rivals have taken.
Electrek reports that the company did not negotiate an agreement that will let owners of its cars use Telsa’s charging network. Tesla has opened some, but not all, of its Superchargers for anyone to use. Most rivals have negotiated to pay Tesla fees in exchange for letting all of their drivers use the network. Stellantis may not have the same arrangement in place.
