In an exciting coordinated release around the country, a few avid Ford EV users were able to test the first ever NACS to CCS adapter to charge our Ford EV’s at a Supercharger, and we were fortunate enough to be among those select few. This epic moment has been a long time coming so let me explain a little bit, in case you don’t know the back story.
Flashback to 2011 when a bunch of automotive engineering bodies and major automakers like Ford, BMW, Audi, GM, Porsche, and VW all got together and decided to make a unified EV charging system that everyone could use. 2012 rolls around and they all release their open standard. At the same time, Tesla reveals their proprietary charging system. And so the division was born. Us vs them. Tesla and everyone else. The Supercharger network vs everything else. Except in Europe, they’ve been playing together there for ages.
In 2023, Ford partnered with Tesla to open the proprietary Tesla charging
Now, because CCS is an open system, Tesla were able to develop an adaptor for their vehicles to use CCS but no other automaker had the same opportunity to break into the closed Tesla system until May 2023. In a move that truly shook the auto world, Jim Farley – CEO of Ford and Elon Musk – CEO of Tesla announced that they were partnering to bring the Tesla proprietary charging system to Ford electric vehicles. This move kicked off a domino wave of brand after brand announcing the same partnership until almost no stragglers remained. Soon after, the formerly proprietary Tesla charging system was renamed to NACS – North American Charging Standard, since it is now officially the open charging standard for all.
Until all EV’s have NACS, we’re going to need an adaptor
Future vehicles will likely come out the gate with NACS charging built in but, for cars coming out soon and the EV’s currently out in the world, they’re going to need an adapter. Various automakers have made plans for the adapter but, fittingly as first to the NACS decision, Ford is the first to the adapter, and we were fortunate enough to be one of the first to receive an adapter.
And this is what brings us back to the present day, where we will soon be charging at a bustling Tesla Supercharger in sunny Southern California, charging our Ford Mustang Mach-E. Though this Supercharger is one of the nicer around, replete with a solar canopy, restrooms, and fancy vending machines, the moment feels way more momentous than the environment dictates. We will plug in our Mustang Mach-E into a Supercharger. I feel like cheering! Or doing cartwheels! Instead I just bounce around happily and think about all the other people that will be able to do this soon too. Because that’s the biggest reason I’m excited about all this – for more people to have more access to more electric vehicle charging. It’s not simply that we’re using a Supercharger. It’s that it’s not proprietary anymore and Ford was able to work with Tesla to ensure that our vehicles are ready to Plug & Charge into more than 15,300 chargers on the Tesla network. It’s about choice, flexibility, and EV adoption going mainstream. Making EV charging a community struggle is going to make a world of difference.
How do I get a CCS to NACS charging adaptor?
Well if you have a Ford electric vehicle then you’re in luck! Ford will be providing FREE adaptors to all their EV owners. To receive your complimentary charger just follow these steps:
- Go to https://www.ford.com/FastChargingAdapter/
- Sign in to your Ford Pass account
- Select to Reserve your adapter at no cost
- Confirm your shipping details and click Reserve
- Make sure that you have Automatic Updates on so your car can get prepped for Supercharging
- And finally, try to be patient as Ford sends out all these free adapters
What if I don’t have a Ford EV?
Not to worry, many other automakers are working on their own adapters so just investigate what your brand is doing. There are also some companies that have been developing their own 3rd party adaptors. If you decide to purchase one of those, my advice would be to make sure that you use whatever adapter is approved by the maker of your car.
Haven’t Tesla adapters been out for ages?
Tesla DESTINATION charger adaptors have been out since 2018. These adaptors work on Level 2 Tesla Destination Chargers, like the ones you find in people’s homes or at hotels. This is not the same as the NACS adaptor which is what you will need for DCFC aka FAST charging. It could still be useful to have both since the NACS adapter will not work on a destination charger and vice versa, so having both gives you access to pretty much everything.
Before you use a NACS adapter, there are some things you should know
Pretty soon it’s not going to matter what electric car you buy, you’re going to be able to charge it almost anywhere. Only V3 Superchargers and up will be equipped to support CCS vehicles but that gives you a whopping 15,300+ more options. Various automakers have committed to a variety of dates for when they will be implementing an adapter and when they will be incorporating NACS into their new vehicles. If you happen to get a hold of a NACS adapter before your car maker supports it, you will likely still not be able to charge. This huge change is taking a ton of back end work between Tesla and everyone else.
Superchargers are about to get weird – Let’s be kind to each other
Superchargers are made for Tesla’s and their charging port placement so things are going to get a bit weird as all the other EV’s start to descend upon their former domain. The charging port placement on many other EV’s means that they might end up taking two spots, like we do in our Mach-E. Being considerate when picking spots, like taking the spot next to another Mach-E, could help make this less of an imposition. And for Tesla drivers, I encourage you to be welcoming to your new EV friends. Tesla and their automakers have decided to do this together. They’re supposed to be there and it’s going to make everything so much easier if we can all get along as we get used to this new adventure.
