Volvo subsidiary Polestar has signed an agreement with Tesla today. This deal grants Polestar EV drivers across the United States and Canada access to Tesla’s Supercharger network, leveraging the latter’s North American Charging Standard (NACS).
Starting in 2025, all new Polestar vehicles sold within North America will feature the NACS charging port as a standard. For current Polestar drivers, an adapter is in the works to enable easy access to the Tesla Supercharger network. These adapters are scheduled to be released in mid-2024, providing a seamless charging experience for existing EV owners, reports Tesla North.
Polestar CEO, Thomas Ingenlath, praised Tesla’s pioneering work in an official statement on Thursday. “Tesla has done tremendous work to accelerate the adoption and increase the popularity of electric vehicles. It’s fantastic to see the Supercharger network being made available in this way. With 12,000 charging points today, a number that will continue to grow, this move will significantly increase the rate of EV adoption in a key automotive region.”
The agreement covers both current and future Polestar models. To maintain compatibility with the existing Combined Charging System (CCS) public fast charging infrastructure in North America, future NACS-equipped Polestar vehicles will come with a CCS adapter. This move guarantees a smooth and efficient charging experience for all Polestar drivers.
The CCS connector is an EV standard but now it looks to be losing control to Tesla’s NACS. It feels like VHS versus Betamax or Blu-ray versus HD DVD all over again.
Also this morning, Volkswagen’s Electrify America charging network announced it would adopt Tesla’s NACS as well in Canada and the USA.
This announcement comes after Polestar’s parent company, Volvo, adopted Tesla’s NACS earlier this week. The adoption of NACS by Ford, GM, Rivian, Volvo, and now Polestar, raises the question of who will be next to embrace this fast-evolving charging standard.
Tesla also has an agreement with the federal government to open up its Supercharger network and also expand the latter across Canada.
