Kia EV owners will be able to top up using Tesla Superchargers starting on January 15, the Korean automakerrevealedon Tuesday. In the US, drivers will have access to “more than 16,500” chargers to start with, but there is a catch – while Kia is shipping free NACS (North American Charging Standard) adapters to anyone who bought an EV6 orEV9after September 4, anyone who bought a Kia EV prior to that will need to pay an unspecified sum. NACS was originally developed as an exclusiveTeslastandard, but became available to other automakers in November 2022.
Apple car key vs Android digital car key: Is there a difference?
There’s one key distinction – no pun intended.
Those free Kia adapters should start shipping out inearly 2025. As for buying one, sales will open “at a later date,” Kia says. You should be able to order the accessory from dealerships, although whether they’ll have them readily in-stock is unknown – dealerships often keep their EV inventories low despite the sector’s growing importance.
For models with NACS built in, the company is planning to sell reverse adapters that will allow them to tap into CCS charging stations, as well as Level 2 AC chargers. It’s also working on a dashboard software update that will allow drivers to pay for charging via the Kia Access app, though that’s another feature with a broad “early 2025” window.
What’s the significance of Kia supporting Tesla Superchargers?
The future of North American charging
Tesla Superchargers are widespread in the US and Canada, often making it more practical for EVs to travel long distances – it’s now possible to drive across the continent in both countries. Even if it weren’t, adding Supercharger support expands the options available to Kia owners, so it’s less likely they’ll stumble across a station that’s busy, out of commission, or incompatible.
Together, NACS and CCS could put an end to the CHAdeMO charging format in North America.
Kia has also been a holdout in switching to NACS, since Ford, Rivian, Hyundai, and GM have already begun making the conversion. 2025 is likely to be a big year for the format – apart from Kia, brands like Toyota (including Lexus) will be joining in, and more models should ship with NACS as standard.
Together, NACS and CCS could put an end to the CHAdeMO charging format in North America. Very few localized vehicles now use CHAdeMO, the best-known being the Nissan Leaf. Indeed another charging network, Electrify America, started phasing out CHAdeMO in January 2022.
