Stellantis, parent company of brands like Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler and more, has officially launched Free2move Charge, what it bills as “a 360-degree ecosystem that will seamlessly deliver charging and energy management to address all EV customer needs, anywhere and in any way.” However the automaker is launching Free2move without yet adopting Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS), which has quickly become the standard in Canada and the US.
According to Stellantis Free2move is an ecosystem of EV charging hardware, software and services operated under the new Stellantis Charging & Energy Business Unit. The company will offer three different services for electric vehicle (EV) charging, Free2move Charge Home, Free2move Charge Business, and Free2move Charge GO.
Stellantis says the first products and services are launching now in North America and expanding to Europe at a later date. However their press release was notably absent of one key item, and that’s what connectors their charging network will support.
Over the last month the Combined Charging System (CCS) has quickly faded in the background as the charging standard in North America. Tesla’s NACS has assumed that position with Ford, General Motors, Rivian, and just today Volvo all agreeing to adopt Tesla’s charging technology in their EVs. As we reported last week Stellantis said it is “evaluating” whether to do the same, and in today’s press release said it will “work with other industry leaders to bring more EV charging solutions to market,” suggesting a possible deal to come.
Without an EV in North American market, but with plans to release some later this year like the RAM 1500 REV and Jeep Wagoneer, Stellantis could be waiting until the launch of those EVs to announce they will be coming with NACS, but none of the deals already announced will see integrated NACS ports until 2025.
