Nissan to Adopt Telsa’s NCAS for Ariya and Future EV Models

Nissan has joined Ford Motor Company and General Motors as the latest OEM to adopt Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS), with access to Tesla’s 12,000-station Supercharger network and plans to offer NACS charging adaptors in future EV models.

Starting in 2025, Nissan will offer EVs for the U.S. and Canadian markets with a NACS port, greatly increasing the number of public fast-charging locations at which Nissan EVs can be charged, announced the automaker.

The first Japanese automaker to announce future product support for NACS, Nissan will make available a NACS charging adapter for DC fast charging on its EV crossover Ariya models, currently equipped with the Combined Charging System (CCS) 1, enabling customers to connect their vehicle’s charging port to NACS plugs at compatible chargers.

According to online high-tech news source, TechCrunch, most electric vehicles in the U.S., have used the Combined Charging System,” an internationally recognized charging standard developed by a consortium of automotive manufacturers, including Ford, Volkswagen and Daimler.”

Tesla developed a different charging ecosystem — the NACS — that includes the charging port and connector. Tesla also built out a network of thousands of NACS-only fast chargers called Superchargers,

TechCruch credits the quality of Tesla’s charging system — “from the size and weight of the charging cables to the quality of the Supercharging stations to the ease of payment” with driving the automaker’s ranking as the top global EV seller.

As more OEMs also partner with Tesla for access NACS charging ports, Tesla owners will benefit from the addition of CCS adapters on their vehicles, Dr. Dave Tuttle, research associate at the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, recently told Daniel Litwin, host The Big Deal B2B online video series.

Tuttle noted Tesla was a pioneer in DC fast charging “a decade ago when they brought out the Model S, and they’ve invested billions of dollars” in the Supercharging network. As OEMs seek to increase their EV sales, said Tuttle, “the CCS infrastructure and ecosystem hasn’t been as robust in delivering ease-of-use and reliability.”