Future Honda and Acura EVs to Adopt Tesla’s NACS Connector
Future electric vehicles from Honda will integrate Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) in order to have direct access to Supercharger stations across the continent. Same thing for EVs from its luxury brand Acura.
Ford, GM, Rivian, Volvo, Polestar, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan have all made similar announcements earlier this summer, looking to capitalize on Tesla’s excellent and ultra-fast chargers, which lead the industry in terms of dependability and user satisfaction according to a recent J.D. Power study.
- Also: 2024 Acura ZDX Electric Crossover Unveiled in Monterey
- Also: Upcoming Honda Prologue to Feature Google Built-in, Plenty of Tech
Officially, the Japanese automaker has yet to sign a deal with Tesla, but the wheels are in motion as American Honda Motor president and CEO Noriya Kaihara confirmed last Friday.
Since the upcoming 2024 Honda Prologue and Acura ZDX (the latter was unveiled in California just a few days ago) rely on GM’s architecture and Ultium battery technology, they will have the traditional CCS connector that requires an adapter to be compatible with Tesla’s Superchargers. They are expected to switch to the NACS design in 2025 at the earliest.
Meanwhile, as we reported in late July, Honda and GM are part of a group of seven automakers (along with BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis) that will form a joint venture to develop a new, high-powered charging network in North America in order to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles.
Without specifying a timetable, they said their goal is to offer at least 30,000 fast chargers across the continent, accessible to all battery-powered EVs from any automaker using the CCS or NACS. They hope their joint venture will become “the leading network of reliable, high-powered charging stations in North America.” Tesla currently has more than 19,000 Superchargers in the U.S. and Canada.
The first stations are expected to open in the U.S. in the summer of 2024 and in Canada at a later stage. Critically, the joint venture intends to power the charging network solely by renewable energy.
Back to the Honda Prologue, an official introduction is set to take place later in 2023 with sales to follow at some point in the first half of 2024. Stay tuned.
