Audi, Porsche, and Volkswagen Align with Tesla's Charging Standard, Revolutionizes 2025 Electric Vehicle Landscape

Dec 22, 2023 03:24 AM EST

TESLA CHARGING STATION DURING THE NIGHT — (Photo : PEXELS/Soly Moses)

The famous car manufacturer known as Volkswagen Group, which also boasts ownership of Audi, Porsche, and Scout Motors, has belatedly followed the footsteps of nearly every other automobile manufacturer by officially declaring its intention to adopt Tesla's electric vehicle charging standard. VW has said it will keep looking into ways to make it easier for people who own its electric cars to use Tesla's Supercharger network.

Major Shift, Joining the League

Volkswagen hopes to have a working solution ready by 2025. In that same year, newly produced VW electric vehicles will feature Tesla's charging port seamlessly integrated. VW's plan calls for giving its customers access to a large network of 15,000 Supercharger stations all over North America.

Volkswagen stands out as one of the last prominent automakers to embrace Tesla's superior charging infrastructure, leaving only Stellantis as the remaining holdout. This transformative shift began taking shape in November 2022 when Tesla made a groundbreaking announcement.

It renamed its charging technology as the North American Charging Standard (NACS) and opening it up to collaboration with other automakers. Ford took the initial plunge, followed by GM, and subsequently, a cascade of other industry players joined the fold.

Within the vast realm of the automotive industry, Volkswagen Group, an automotive juggernaut encompassing renowned brands such as Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Porsche, and Lamborghini, remained conspicuously silent throughout this paradigm-shifting development.

According to reports, all they received were news indicating that the company was engaged in discussions with Tesla. This news came in the wake of the announcement that Electrify America, Volkswagen's EV charging subsidiary, was set to incorporate Tesla charging plugs independently.

According to a report in Engadget, given the widespread adoption of the NACS by numerous automakers, Tesla's charging technology is increasingly solidifying itself as the prevailing industry standard. GM, Volvo, Polestar, Mercedes, Honda, BMW, Lucid, and various other manufacturers have committed to implementing NACS charging support in their vehicles over the next few years.

Tesla's Supercharger Network

Boasting over 50,000 Superchargers worldwide, Tesla holds the distinction of operating the largest fast-charging network on a global scale. As shared on Tesla's website, by carefully placing these Superchargers along major travel routes and close to useful amenities, they make sure that cars stay charged while owners are away from home. The process is straightforward: connect your vehicle, recharge, and continue on your journey.

Report shared that Tesla's Supercharger network is widely acknowledged as surpassing many of the third-party EV charging stations, most of which are equipped with CCS plugs and the less frequently used CHAdeMO charging standard. The Verge shared, that the company revealed that it has a global total of 45,000 Superchargers, with 12,000 of them situated within the United States.

Tesla says that its Superchargers are very reliable. The company says that the average downtime of Supercharger sites last year was a very good 99.95 percent. This is a little lower than the 99.96 percent that was recorded in 2021.

As reported by OilPrice.com, the integration of NACS into the electric vehicle landscape grants users access to Tesla's expansive Supercharger network, thereby bolstering the EV charging infrastructure.

NACS has earned recognition as the fresh industry benchmark, having been officially designated as such by SAE International and garnering support from a multitude of industry stakeholders, including the White House.