Hyundai, Kia to adopt Tesla's EV-charging ports in US

Hyundai and Kia will adopt Tesla's NACS for their electric vehicles in the US, enabling access to Tesla's Supercharger network by late 2024. Existing Hyundai EV owners will be provided with adapters to use the Superchargers.

Tesla Superchargers are seen at the Petaluma Supercharger in Petaluma, California, on March 9, 2022. [AFP/YONHAP]

Hyundai Motor and Kia EV owners will be able to use Tesla's proprietary charging network starting from late next year in the United States, giving the vehicles access to thousands of Superchargers across the country.

The two Korean automakers said Thursday they decided to adopt Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS) on its vehicles starting from late 2024 in the United States.

As a result, all-new or refreshed Hyundai and Kia EVs in the U.S. will come exclusively with a NACS port, beginning in the fourth quarter of 2024. The ports will be adopted in Canada in the first half of 2025.

Owners of existing and future Hyundai EVs with the current Combined Charging System (CCS) port will be offered an adapter to access the Superchargers. Hyundai will also make available adapters that can charge NACS-equipped vehicles at CCS chargers.

The same decision has been carried out by many global peers, including Ford Motor, General Motors and Nissan, that announced the adoption of the NACS port earlier in the year in an attempt to increase their share in the U.S. EV market.

Most global automakers including Hyundai use CCS port while only Tesla uses its own NACS port. The two are incompatible.

Tesla's EV charging connector is pictured at a charging station in Anaheim, California on June 9. Recently, Ford, General Motors, Volvo Cars and Rivian announced their adoption of Tesla's North American Charging Standard charging plug. [AP/YONHAP]

Tesla owns around 12,000 Superchargers and controls 60 percent of the U.S. fast charger network as of March. These chargers are lighter and faster than most others with a maximum of 250 kilowatts of charging power, which allows drivers to charge their cars up to 200 miles in 15 minutes.

“Our collaboration with Tesla marks another milestone in our commitment to delivering exceptional EV experiences to our customers,” said José Muñoz, CEO of Hyundai Motor North America.

“This new alliance will provide Hyundai EV owners confidence in their ability to conveniently charge their vehicles and complements our joint venture company to create a new, high-powered charging network with at least 30,000 stations across North America.”

The latest decision will offer drivers more charging options, but may help Tesla to expand its domination in the EV ecosystem, experts say. As of now, all four of the biggest EV makers in the U.S. market — Tesla, GM, Hyundai Motor and Kia, and Ford — decided to use NACS charging ports. The four companies dominate 80 percent of the U.S. EV market.

Volkswagen and Stellantis are also reviewing the adoption.

“As automakers join the Supercharger network, Tesla will be able to access their EVs and related data,” said Park Chul-wan, a professor at Seojeong University’s smart car engineering department.

“With the Superchargers, Tesla's ultimate goal is to control the whole EV ecosystem, so Hyundai and Kia must maintain a keen lookout on the U.S. automaker's expansion.”

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]