Honda to Adopt Tesla’s Electric Vehicle Charging Standard in North America

Today, Honda revealed its decision to adopt Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) for its future electric vehicles (EVs) sold in the continent. Starting from 2025, Honda models will utilize NACS instead of the Combined Charging System (CCS). Additionally, Honda is working on creating an adapter that will enable pre-2025 Honda vehicles to charge using Tesla’s system. This move solidifies Honda’s position as the dominant North American standard, following Elon Musk and Tesla’s decision to make it accessible to competitors less than a year ago.

“We’re excited to announce that Honda is expanding fast charging for Honda & Acura #EV customers with the introduction of the North American Charging Standard (NACS),” Honda of America posted today on X (formerly Twitter). The company said it plans to launch a new EV model in North America in 2025 that will include a NACS port; all Honda electric cars use the Tesla standard after this.

Honda is also part of a newly formed group that aims to create a new charging network in North America with BMW, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes and Stellantis. Honda and other automakers said in July that they wanted to “accelerate the transition to electric vehicles” and “make zero-emission driving even more attractive.” Honda’s press release today describes the introduction of NACS as an “addition” to existing plans, but we asked Honda to clarify whether or how today’s NACS announcement may affect that alliance’s strategy. (We’ll update this article if we get a response.)

Other vehicle manufacturers announcing the introduction of NACS in North America include Ford, GM, Mercedes, Polestar and Volvo. In addition, Texas announced in June that state-funded EV charging stations should include NACS.