Lucid Motors has finally agreed to adopt the North American Charging Standard (NACS). Lucid, one of the last remaining holdouts, now becomes the twenty-fourth automaker to join the NACS coalition, siding with Tesla and their charging technology over the Combined Charging System (CCS).
Back in May Ford became the first automaker to agree to adopt NACS, a move which started a domino effect as other automakers realized that CCS was on its way out and Tesla’s elegantly designed, and more importantly, reliable charging technology was soon going to become the standard.
While nearly every major automaker has since agreed to adopt NACS, one of the notable standouts was Lucid. Based on comments by CEO Peter Rawlinson, it appeared they were in no rush to join, saying the hype around NACS was “bizarre” and that it was “just a plug.” One of the sticking points was Rawlinson’s desire for higher-voltage charging stations, as their cars are built with 800V architecture, and Tesla’s current Superchargers are capable of 400V.
Tesla was apparently able to satisfy Rawlinson’s concerns, as the automaker announced today they are adopting NACS “to bring greater convenience to Lucid customers.”
According to Lucid, their existing owners with CCS charge ports will gain access to over 15,000 Superchargers in Canada and the US in 2025 with an adapter. Also in 2025 Lucid will begin integrating the NACS charge port directly into their vehicles. Rawlinson specifically mentioned Tesla will provide “future ready higher-voltage charging stations” in his statement regarding the partnership, likely referring to Tesla’s V4 Superchargers which are now starting to appear in the US and are capable of up to 1,000V.
“Adopting NACS is an important next step to providing our customers with expanded access to reliable and convenient charging solutions for their Lucid vehicles. We believe that a unified charging standard, backed by the nationwide rollout of future-ready higher-voltage charging stations, will be a critical step in empowering American consumers to adopt electric vehicles,” said Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO at Lucid.
Lucid currently has just one vehicle in its lineup, the Air, and has had struggles selling it. The company is on track to miss its annual production guidance, and looks like it will only sell about 6,000 cars in 2023. To try and drum up sales, Lucid cut prices on the Air sedan lineup by more than $13,000 in Canada and $10,000 in the US last week.
