So far more than a dozen automakers have signed on to adopt Tesla’s charging technology and integrate the North American Charging Standard (NACS) into their future electric vehicles (EVs). That list looks like it is going to grow again soon with the addition of Hyundai, along with their sister brands Kia and Genesis.
After Ford and GM announced their intention to join the NACS coalition, Hyundai CEO Jaehoon Chang said back in June that his company was considering joining them. However one of the hurdles to overcome before signing on the dotted line was that the existing Tesla Supercharger network falls short of matching the fast charging capabilities found in Hyundai’s EV. The IONIQ 5 for example boasts an 800-volt architecture, facilitating faster charging, while Tesla’s V3 Superchargers, in contrast, operate at 480 volts.
Tesla’s V4 Superchargers should alleviate those concerns, but the expansion of the V4 network has so far been limited to Europe. It appears as though Hyundai is okay with their EVs not achieving their advertised charging rates at V2 and V3 Superchargers as the automaker looks to be preparing to announce its support of NACS.
According to photos shared on Reddit, a Hyundai IONIQ 5, IONIQ 6, Kia EV9 (which hasn’t been released yet), and Genesis GV60 were spotted doing a photoshoot this morning at the San Clemente Supercharger, with all of the EVs being setup to make it look like they were plugged in and charging. (h/t: @The_EVGuy)
With these photos being taken today it would not be surprising to see Hyundai/Kia/Genesis announcing their support of NACS next week. Unlike the other automakers thus far, it will be interesting to see by how much Hyundai sacrificed charging speeds to gain access to the Supercharger network and avoid being left behind.
As with the other deals, we expect Hyundai/Kia/Genesis will offer adapters to existing owners starting next year, and then directly integrate the NACS port into their EVs starting in 2025.
