Hyundai Motor North America and its sister brands Kia America and Genesis Motor North America all announced on Thursday they'll be joining the ranks of automakers to adopt the North American Charging Standard for electric cars, popularized and open-sourced by Tesla. The move, according to Hyundai, will double the size of the DC fast charging network available to its owners, adding access to over 12,000 Tesla Superchargers across North America.
What started as a 2014 promise from head honcho Elon Musk to open-source Tesla's patents and technologies to accelerate and boost EV adoption culminated in the announcement in late 2022 that it would be opening its EV charging connection and protocols, rebranded as the North American Charging Standard, to any automaker willing to adopt. Soon after, Ford announced that it would be adopting the NACS connection, followed by a deluge of adoption announcements from other automakers, which now includes the Hyundai Motor Group.
Read more: DC Fast Charging: Know Before You Go in Your EV
Current owners of Genesis, Hyundai or Kia EVs will be able to purchase a NACS adapter.
In separate announcements, Hyundai, Genesis and Kia's American operating subsidiaries all outlined nigh-identical plans. Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2024, Hyundai and Genesis will begin to equip all of their new or refreshed electric vehicles in the US exclusively with the NACS port. Canadian EVs will follow in early 2025. Kia's timeline has all EVs sold in the US, Canada and Mexico all making the switch at the same time in Q4 2024. So equipped, the EVs will have native access to Tesla's North American Supercharger network for DC fast charging on the go.
Don't go trading in your current Kia EV6, Ioniq 5 or Genesis GV60 just yet, however. Existing owners of the nine EVs across the Hyundai Motor Group brands that feature the current Combined Charging System standard will also gain compatibility with Tesla Superchargers via a CCS1-to-NACS adapter, which will be available via dealers starting in 2025. Pricing for the adapter has yet to be announced.
