Polestar will follow in Volvo’s footsteps in adopting the North American Charging Standard (NACS) charging plug in the near future. The move means that five automakers have officially joined the standard pioneered by Tesla, including Ford, GM, Rivian, and the two Swedish brands.
Starting in 2025, Polestar’s new vehicles sold in North America will come equipped with the same plug type as a Tesla. For all electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles produced before then, an adapter will start being handed out in mid-2024 to allow their Combined Charging System (CCS) plugs to interface with the cords at Tesla’s charging stations.
“This is a great win for our North American customers! We salute the pioneering work Tesla has done to speed up the adoption and increase the popularity of electric vehicles, and it’s great to see the Supercharger network being made available in this way,” said Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar’s CEO. “With 12,000 charging points today, a number that will only keep growing, this move will greatly increase the rate of EV adoption in a key automotive region.”
More: Volvo Becomes First European Carmaker To Join Tesla’s Charging Standard In North America
Unlike Volvo, Polestar did not explicitly say that it will give customers of vehicles built after 2025 an adapter, which will allow their NACS-equipped vehicles to charge at CCS stations. However, the technology certainly exists, and Tesla’s adapter costs $175.
The upcoming Polestar 3 will be based on the same platform as Volvo EX90, making this announcement a sensible one for the automakers.
However, the related Swedish brands are the first European automakers to commit to using the NACS plug in North America (Volvo will also use it in Mexico). The move is notable since automakers are required to use the CCS plug in Europe, where governments decided to enforce charging standard ubiquity for driver convenience.
In North America, where the CCS network is relatively smaller, and reliability has been poor, Tesla’s Supercharger network has become the more reliable option. Following announcements from major American automakers Ford and GM, Stellantis and Hyundai have both said they are considering adopting the NACS standard in the near future.
