General Motors EV Owners to Get Access to 12,000 Tesla Superchargers
Access opens in 2024, and GM also plans to use Tesla connectors in its new EVs by 2025
Starting in 2024, owners of GM EVs will have access to 12,000 of Tesla’s 45,000-strong network of DC fast chargers. And in 2025, GM says it will begin using Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector on its new electric models, allowing those new EVs to connect without an adaptor. This announcement comes only a week after Ford made a similar commitment.
“This is a massive blow to the Combined Charging System (CCS) connectors currently used on many EVs in North America, but it’s good news for consumers,” says Chris Harto, Consumer Reports’ senior policy analyst for energy and transportation. “To date, Tesla’s Supercharger network is the largest, most reliable DC fast-charging network in the U.S.”
Harto says that although the long-term impacts of GM’s collaboration with Tesla remain unclear for now, it does seem likely, given Ford’s recent announcement, that the existing network of NACS chargers could grow more rapidly than they have, thanks to an infusion of money from the two bigger automakers.
Photo: General Motors Photo: General Motors
An appropriate comparison over the charger-type drama unfolding now reminds of the simultaneous presence of USB and lightning cables on phone and device chargers. Both are available for different brands, and neither has emerged yet as the dominant type.
In the meantime, says Harto, some charging companies are installing NACS plugs on their chargers. Tesla, which has made the size and robustness of its charging network a big part of its business model, made the technology available to anyone who wanted to use it. Harto says that with two of North America’s biggest auto manufacturers making NACS available to owners of their EVs, a majority of new EVs over the next few years will have access to both NACS and CCS chargers.
“Both Ford and GM are essentially betting their companies on huge ramp-ups in EV production over the next few years, and their deals with Tesla instantly boost the appeal of their EVs by making more chargers available,” says Harto, adding that the collaborations also put Tesla Motors in a unique and very powerful position as EV ownership expands. “Over the long term, it will be necessary for federal and state regulators and consumer advocates like CR to keep an eye on Tesla to prevent monopolistic behavior as its charging network, and its influence over the EV market, grows.”
Just a few months ago, President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan infrastructure bill into law that set aside $7.5 billion for public EV charging. The Biden administration’s plan calls for a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle chargers, as well as a push for EVs to make up half of U.S. car sales by the end of the decade.
“Most people who buy EVs charge at home, but new EV buyers want to know that they’ll make it where they’re going if they go on a longer trip,” says Harto. “A bigger network would do a lot to make people more comfortable with EVs.”
Even as means of DC fast charging become more widely available—a boon to long-distance travelers who need to top up quickly—it still remains one of the most expensive ways to charge an EV.
“For most EV owners, charging at home will still be the best option,” Harto says.
