Dive Brief:
- Nissan has reached an agreement with Tesla and will adopt its North American Charging Standard beginning with the Ariya SUV in 2024 and future models in 2025, the company announced in a press release on Wednesday.
- To start, Nissan will offer its Ariya customers a NACS charging adapter to charge at Tesla Superchargers in the U.S. and Canada.
- Nissan is the first Japanese automaker to announce the switch to Tesla’s NACS plug design.
Dive Insight:
Along with the Nissan Leaf, the Ariya SUV is one of the two battery-powered models that’s currently on sale in the U.S. The Leaf, which launched in 2010, comes with the older style CHAdeMO connector, while the Ariya comes with the Combined Charging System port.
Starting in 2025, the automaker will switch to Tesla’s NACS port on all future electric models. However, Nissan did not say if it will offer the NACS port on the Leaf in the future.
“Adopting the NACS standard underlines Nissan’s commitment to making electric mobility even more accessible as we follow our Ambition 2030 long-term vision of greater electrification,” said Jérémie Papin, chairperson, Nissan Americas, in a statement.
As major automakers switch to Tesla’s NACS plug for their EVs, the future of CCS becomes more uncertain.
Ford was the first automaker to announce the switch to Tesla’s NACS in May, which was quickly followed by rival GM and electric truckmaker Rivian in June. Mercedes-Benz announced on July 7 that it will switch to the NACS port, becoming the first German automaker to commit to Tesla’s plug design.
Nissan is targeting more than 40% of its U.S. vehicle sales to be fully electric models by 2030 as part of its electrification strategy. The company is launching two new fully-electric models that will be assembled in the U.S. at the automaker’s assembly plant in Canton, Mississippi, starting in late 2025.
Additional details on the rollout of NACS compatible Nissan vehicles will be announced at a later date, according to the press release.
