Discuss - Ford Adopts NACS In Future EVs

[RNHurt]

Ford EV Customers To Gain Access to 12,000 Tesla Superchargers; Company to Add North American Charging Standard Port in Future EVs​

It looks like Ford is the first traditional car manufacturer to adopt the NACS. I see this as a big win for both Ford and Tesla. Tesla can now get some of the government money for building out a charging network. And Ford gets access to the most reliable charging network on the planet. Plus, I now have a much better reason to purchase a Ford Lightning in the future.

I've always thought that the first car maker to make the switch would start an avalanche. EVs are the future, no doubt, but I think the general public still view charging the car as the biggest obstacle to owning one. I'm betting that other car manufacturers will join the NACS movement within the next couple of years when they see how seamless the experience is for the customer.

Of course, this all falls apart if Ford screws up the software. It's not hard to imagine Ford adding some steps to the process, either through ignorance or greed. Please, oh please, don't let them screw this up!

 

[Bob C]

I'm not sure how I feel about this. I own 2 MS (2017 -75D w/FSD, and 2018 - 100D w/FSD). I'm about to trade in the 2017 and buy a MB EQE SUV. While I like the Magic Dock approach to allowing CCS-1 EVs to use a portion of the available super chargers I'm not sure I will be happy that your Ford Lightning, Mustang Mach e and others can access any or all of the available chargers. How fast can Tesla and Ford (?) add super chargers? What happens when another OEM joins our happy family? It would be great if NACS becomes the new standard but the transition could be messy.

 

[RNHurt]

I think the only downside to this decision is over crowding of Superchargers. However, I think this situation will only be temporary for a couple of reasons. First, the additional funding (from the government) as well as the additional income will prompt Tesla to increase the Supercharger build out. More Superchargers will be better for everyone. Currently, Tesla has to be a bit more picky on where to build new ones. In the future, they should have the funds and incentives to build out in more unexpected places. For example, right now Tesla concentrates on major corridors. However, I could see them building more urban Superchargers (for those in apartments), malls or dinning areas, or even in recreational areas like national parks.

Second, just because an auto manufacture switches to NACS doesn't mean that others can't build out their own "Supercharger" compatible stations. Does it? Can Electrify America build out a system that's compatible with NACS?

Also, charging solutions will only get faster over time. Right now, we have some cars that charge fairly quickly and others that charge very slowly. I feel like the market will resolve those issues, espcially if everyone uses the same standard.