How Ford’s NACS Decision Means More EV Charging Confusion

By Phil Royle — May 27, 2023

With an assist from Tesla, Ford has just added fire to existing EV charging fragmentation and confusion. In a move that came from left field, Ford announced that its EVs would now be compatible with Tesla’s Supercharger network – which is not groundbreaking since Tesla was already rolling out its CCS-compatible Magic Dock, making CCS-equipped EVs compatible with Tesla’s celebrated fast charging network. But Ford went one step further, announcing future Ford EVs would be equipped with Tesla NACS plugs – a step that not only stands to massively complicate Ford EV sales until those 2025 models hit, but also sets in motion more charging confusion among EV companies and owners for potentially the next decade – or more. Although there is hope.

“This is great news for our customers who will have unprecedented access to the largest network of fast-chargers in the U.S. and Canada with 12,000+ Tesla Superchargers plus 10,000+ fast-chargers already in the BlueOval Charge Network,” Jim Farley, Ford president and CEO, said when discussing Ford’s access to Tesla’s Supercharger network. “Widespread access to fast-charging is absolutely vital to our growth as an EV brand, and this breakthrough agreement comes as we are ramping up production of our popular Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning, and preparing to launch a series of next-generation EVs starting in 2025.”

Ford noted that a Tesla-developed adapter will give Ford Mustang Mach-Es, F-150 Lightnings, and E-Transits access to V3 Superchargers, with Ford equipping their EVs with a NACS plugs starting in 2025. And here’s the only hope in this matter: Perhaps Ford will equip those 2025 model year and later vehicles with both CCS and NACS. Maybe. But probably not.

The Chevy Silverado EV (which isn’t available yet) is being actively marketed as having a CCS charging port. If GM opts to follow Ford in making the swap to NACS, now is the time for the company to decide before they sell expensive EV pickups that will eventually be abandoned due to their plug type. (Image courtesy Chevrolet)

There’s little other way to see this, other than starting in 2025, Ford plans to abandon early adopters of its EVs in the hopes that by leaching onto Tesla’s charging experience superiority, Ford can beat GM and Stellantis when it comes to EV rollouts.

With this announcement, Ford has admitted Tesla as number one in the EV market (because it is), and since Ford’s electrification program is comparatively tiny, riding the coattails of the dominant EV leader lets you jump in line. But this is a decision fraught with problems.

F-150 Lightnings and Mustang Mach-Es have already proven to be a bit of a stretch, so to speak, when connecting to a Tesla Supercharger cable thanks to Ford’s fender-mounted charging ports. With Ford moving to NACS starting in 2025, Ford would be smart to mimic Tesla’s charging port placement on its vehicles to make charging access easier for owners – it’s a move that would best serve those customers. But it leaves owners who invested in Ford’s current generation of EVs with an awkward experience at those Superchargers.

Worse, though, it potentially begins a tide change for EV charging infrastructure as networks and manufacturers intermingle CCS and NACS. Whether it’s for the better or worse in the long run is unknown, but what it does is guarantee short-term confusion and fragmentation – something Tesla will capitalize on as it attempts to hold onto as much of the EV market as possible.

Hyundai Group’s E-GMP platform — which includes the stylish Ioniq 5 — utilizes a potent 800v system that is known to not play well with Tesla’s Magic Dock-equipped V3 Superchargers. An industry-wide shift to NACS could leave early CCS cars like these with long-term charging compatibility issues. (Image courtesy Hyundai Group)

Ford owns between 12% and 14% of the overall U.S. automotive marketplace, so the shift from CCS to NACS is far from insignificant when you consider that it’s inevitable that all manufacturers will transition their consumer vehicles to full electric in the coming decades. There’s no doubt that General Motors and Stellantis moved NACS to the top of their meeting agendas the moment Ford’s news broke. Should GM take the plunge, that would account for another 17% of the U.S. automotive market committing to NACS over CCS, with Stallantis accounting for roughly an additional 11%.

These numbers aren’t EV market share, but we’re looking at potential here, not current reality.

With Ford moving to NACS, EV charging companies like EVgo, Electrify America, ChargePoint, and more would be negligent if they didn’t consider adding NACS to their charging pedestal portfolio. If GM and Stellantis jump into NACS, it would be disastrous for charging companies in the long run if they didn’t also make the swap.

This leaves Hyundai, Kia, Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen, Porsche, Polestar, Volvo, Rivian, Lucid, and many more up a creek, because at that point, CCS charging infrastructure will be rolling out at a slower rate than originally anticipated – and charging infrastructure is one of the largest pain points of EV ownership.

If every automotive company transitions from CCS to NACS, that’s fantastic – all EVs can charge everywhere. What a world! But the way automotive companies operate, that could be an 8-10 year transition, undoubtedly leaving abandoned CCS chargers and used EVs with CCS in its wake. In the short term, CCS EVs will be able to use the Magic Dock to charge at Tesla Superchargers, but we already know that some 800v EVs (like the Ioniq 5) don’t fare well on V3 Superchargers.

In the long term, it could mean that EVs like the 2022-’24 model F-150 Lightning are dead in the water because the Magic Dock and adapters will only stay around as long as they're needed by the masses. Just look at CHAdeMO cars — to use a little hyperbole, that fast charging ownership experience is probably only slightly better than those owning a fuel cell vehicle, and will get worse with time.

Is Ford abandoning CCS a doom and gloom moment? The result may be a better EV world down the road, but we may not know which way this will fly for quite a while. And regardless of whether CCS or NACS wins out, we’ll likely be dealing with the fallout of these decisions in the used car market for decades to come.

What I do know is I wouldn’t be buying a Ford EV until 2025, and I’d be very hesitant to buy any CCS car – or even home charger – until the other big players in the U.S. automotive market speak up.

(Lead photo courtesy Ford)

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