EV charging companies race to add Tesla's NACS connectors [Update]

Tesla rocked the electric vehicle (EV) charging industry last month when it was announced that Ford was going to adopt the North American Charging Standard (NACS) for their EVs. That was followed with GM announcing the same partnership yesterday, effectively ending the bulky Combined Charging System (CCS) almost overnight.

With two of the largest US-based automakers backing Tesla's technology, EV charging companies are quickly following suit with their own announcements that they too are adopting NACS at their charging stations.

Late Thursday Quebec-based FLO announced it was going to be adding NACS connectors at its stations "because of its widespread use by EV drivers and reliability of stations that currently offer NACS." In a statement the company didn't specify when or where it was going to be adding NACS, but it did say it has the capability to "rapidly adopt new technology and standards."

UPDATE 2:00pm PT: Circuit électrique, the largest public electric vehicle (EV) charging network in Québec, has said it too has begun discussion on adding NACS to their charging stations.

Quebec largest charging network (@CircuitElec Circuit Électrique) has already started to look how to transition to NACS

🥂🚀 pic.twitter.com/9Bmr42iU6x

— World Spills (@WorldSpills) June 9, 2023

FLO wasn't the only company to make their own announcement following the partnership between Tesla and GM. On Friday ABB E-mobility, a charging company with over a decade of experience in the US EV charging market, said it was adding NACS to its charging stations. While the company is adding NACS, it said it will "continue our commitment to global and regional standards (CCS, MCS, CHAdeMO, GB/T)…that accelerate the electrification of transportation for all."

The company said on Twitter it will be adding NACS to both existing stations and new stations moving forward once they have had the opportunity to design, test and validate the connectors.

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ABB E-mobility has been driving progress for over a decade as a world leader in the e-mobility industry. We will continue to lead by adding the North American Charging Standard (NACS) as an option for our products. Open standards and interoperability are foundational elements of… pic.twitter.com/L2TF7ps1Po

— ABB North America (@ABBNorthAmerica) June 9, 2023

With both Ford and GM adding NACS to their EVs, it appears as though it is only a matter of time until other legacy and EV automakers follow suit. The question then becomes how Tesla will be able to support the additional EV drivers from the two legacy automakers, as many stations across Canada and the US already experience busy periods and wait times with only Tesla drivers needing to plug in.