Kia to Adopt Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS)

• Published On: 9 October 2023
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Kia announced on Thursday that the company will adopt Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS). Kia states that EV drivers will get access to Tesla's 12,000 Superchargers present in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Kia America adopts Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) for its upcoming electric vehicles. Kia states that EV drivers will get access to Tesla's 12,000 Superchargers present in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The NACS will be the industry standard for Kia EVs. Kia stated that Tesla’s NACS technology will be included in the future electric vehicles built in 2024 so that EV drivers can easily access the Tesla Superchargers.

South Korean automaker Kia plans to fit the NACS port into new electric vehicles sold in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The main aim of the company is to increase the number of high-speed chargers available to Kia EV owners so that EV owners can easily get access to chargers across the country. The company is planning to make these changes in the fourth quarter of 2024.

To allow all Kia Electric Vehicles to charge on Tesla’s network, the company is planning to inaugurate CCS1-TO-NACS adapters. Customers who already own Kia EVs with a Combined Charging System (CCS) port will have access to the Tesla Supercharging Network. Starting in the first quarter of 2025, with the help of Kia dealers, these adapters are expected to be available to EV owners. Kia declared that the company will provide an adapter to the customers, with the aim that NACS-equipped cars can fill up their batteries at CCS chargers. Among Kia’s other EV owners, the owners of the Kia Soul EV, which was constructed from 2015 to 2019, will be unable to access the Supercharger network. The Kia Soul EV uses the CHAdeMO charging system.

To make this process more convenient for the owners, Kia states that now the owners will have access to Tesla’s Supercharger network and autopay facilities with the help of the Kia Connect system and the main touchscreen of vehicles, which includes software updates. Just like Kia, Hyundai has also announced that the company will adopt Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS).

President and CEO of Kia North America and Kia America, Mr. Seungkyu (Sean) Yoon, stated, “As a leader in electrified mobility, Kia provides a growing number of world-class EVs with high-speed DC charging capabilities that will now be supported by the NACS charging network. Having this kind of sprawling access to chargers will no doubt boost customer satisfaction, elevate the EV ownership experience, and enable drivers to reach more destinations across the continent on electricity.”