BMW adopts Tesla charging standard NACS
According to BMW of North America, drivers of BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce electric vehicles currently relying on CCS plugs will gain access to select Tesla Supercharger stations in early 2025, as usual via adapter. EVs for North American markets bought in 2025 will already have Tesla’s NACS charging port installed.
BMW says it will work with Tesla in the coming months to create a “seamless customer experience”. The Group informs that available Superchargers will be displayed in the navigation systems of BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce, and drivers can make payments through their respective vehicle’s brand app.
“With six fully electric BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce models now available in the US market, and more to come, it is our top priority to ensure that our drivers have easy access to reliable, fast charging,” said Sebastian Mackensen, President & CEO, BMW of North America. “This agreement is the latest in our longstanding and continued effort to expand charging options for our customers as we continue on the road to electrification.”
In early July, Mercedes-Benz was the first German carmaker to announce the switch to NACS for its North American models. Tesla released the design of its proprietary Supercharger connector in North America in November 2022 and invited car manufacturers and charging network operators to use Supercharger plugs and sockets in the future and renamed it the “North American Charging Standard” or NACS – although it is not yet a certified standard. The NACS train then took on speed this year after two US car giants, Ford and GM, announced that they would switch to Tesla’s charging port shortly after. Several other manufacturers, including Rivian, Volvo, Polestar, Nissan, Honda Jaguar, and most recently, the Hyundai Motor Group, followed, lured in by access to what is easily the widest-reaching fast-charging network in America.
Independently of the agreement with Tesla, BMW, along with other NACS partners such as GM, Hyundai, Kia and Mercedes, is part of an automaker consortium aiming to build a fast charging network in North America with at least 30,000 charge points featuring both NACS and CCS1 connectors.
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