Kia Latest Carmaker To Adopt Tesla’s North American Charging Standard

Kia America joins the growing list of carmakers to adopt Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) for its future EVs. The company says that going forward EV owners will gain access to Tesla’ 12,000 Superchargers across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

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Starting from the fourth quarter of 2024, Kia intends to integrate the NACS port into new electric vehicles sold in the aforementioned regions. This development aims to significantly expand the number of high-speed chargers available to Kia EV owners, allowing for quicker and easier access to chargers across the country.

Furthermore, Kia plans to introduce CCS1-to-NACS adapters, allowing almost all Kia EVs to charge on Tesla's network. These adapters are slated to be made available through Kia dealers starting in the first quarter of 2025. Kia however has stated that owners of the Kia Soul EV manufactured for the model years 2015 to 2019 will not be able to access the Supercharger network. The EV uses the CHAdeMO charging standard.

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For added convenience, Kia says that owners will be able to access Tesla’s Supercharger network and auto pay facilities via the Kia Connect App and the central touchscreen of vehicles following relevant software updates.

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Speaking on the announcement, Seungkyu (Sean) Yoon, President & CEO of Kia North America and Kia America, said, “As a leader in electrified mobility, Kia offers a growing number of world-class EVs with high-speed DC charging capabilities that will now be supported by the NACS charging network. Having this kind of sprawling access to chargers will no doubt boost customer satisfaction, elevate the EV ownership experience, and enable drivers to reach more destinations across the continent on electricity.”