Innovative Move by BMW: Integration Into Tesla’s Supercharger Grid Enables Broad EV Connectivity Growth

Beginning in “early 2025,” new electric vehicles sold by BMW, Rolls-Royce, and MINI will utilize the North American Charging Standard (NACS) in the U.S. and Canada. This will open the door to Tesla’s Supercharger network, as NACS is Tesla’s charging port design. Older BMW Group vehicles that utilize a CCS connector will also gain access to the Supercharger network in 2025, presumably through the use of adapters.

This news isn’t very surprising. Most automakers plan to adopt NACS in 2025, including Ford, Honda, Rivian, GM, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, and others. Not to mention, BMW Group already committed to help build 30,000 charging stations (NACS and CSS) in a joint venture with six other vehicle manufacturers. At the time of writing, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Stellantis are the only major automakers that haven’t announced an NACS transition plan. Stellantis is involved in that joint venture with BMW, though.

As for why these automakers are transitioning to NACS, Tesla’s connector outnumbers CCS by a wide margin. It’s also smaller and more powerful than CCS, and because it was “open-sourced “ in 2022, it doesn’t come with any licensing fees. For new customers, the benefits are quite clear. Plus, CCS charging will be offered alongside NACS, so older vehicles won’t be left in the dust.

Of course, the U.S. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is also part of this equation. Bipartisan leadership agreed on a $1.2 trillion package with a heavy focus on electric vehicle infrastructure. By now, automakers know that the lack of charging availability is a huge pain point for customers (and may cause problems as gas vehicles are weaned away), so they’re keen to take advantage of these government subsidies.

BMW Group currently sells six models of electric vehicle in the United States. All of these vehicles use the CCS connector but will transition to NACS in 2025. Additionally, BMW promises that customers won’t need the Tesla app to pay at Supercharger stations. This information only applies to the United States and Canada. Electric vehicle charging is fairly standardized outside of North America, with Europe tethered to the CCS connector and China sporting its GB/T plug.

Source: BMW Group

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