EV charging in America: all the news about building a new electric car infrastructure - The Verge

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By Umar Shakir, a news writer fond of the electric vehicle lifestyle and things that plug in via USB-C. He spent over 15 years in IT support before joining The Verge.

The state of electric vehicle charging in North America is shaping up like the smartphone charging wars — but focused on much more expensive hardware. Right now, like USB-C and Android phones, the Combined Charging System (CCS, Type 1) plug is on a greater variety of cars. Meanwhile, Tesla’s plug was long compared to Apple and Lightning.

But while Apple eventually adopted USB-C, Tesla is opening up its connector, renaming it the North American Charging Standard (NACS), and trying to shove CCS out of the way.

And it’s working: the new NACS port is being standardized by SAE International, and today, largely every automaker, including Ford, GM, Toyota, Rivian, Volvo, Polestar, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar Land Rover, Fisker, Hyundai, Stellantis, Volkswagen, and BMW, has signed on. New cars equipped with NACS are on the way but likely won’t start rolling out until 2026.

Meanwhile, Europe already dealt with its standards issue by settling on CCS2. For now, EV drivers in their Tesla Model Ys, Kia EV6s, and Nissan Leafs (with the ailing CHAdeMO connector) in the US are still stuck looking for the right station or adapter and hoping everything’s operational — but things should get easier soon.

To help solve these issues, the federal government has established a pool of $7.5 billion to fund charging network operators in building reliable EV infrastructure.

North America can become a great and convenient place to own an electric vehicle, but how long will that take? You can find out by reading all the news about electric vehicle charging right here, so come back and plug in often.

Oct 11

Andrew J. Hawkins

With Enel X Way USA shutting down, Juicebox owners were expecting to lose their connectivity features. But now the company says its working with a financial services company to auction off its software management assets, and customers will be transferred to the winner. In other words, the Juicebox app may live on.

[PRNewswire]

Oct 7

Umar Shakir

Nissan is coming aboard vehicle-to-grid (V2G) EV integration company ChargeScape as an equal investor, alongside founding automakers BMW, Ford, and Honda.

Once the investment transaction is complete, Nissan said it plans to roll out ChargeScape’s services to its electric vehicle customers in the US and Canada.

Oct 4

Umar Shakir

The company is rolling out a new $0.49 “access fee” starting with select stations and adding more over time. The fee will apply to each charging session. Host-owned chargers can add an additional fee on top, if desired. Blink says it will continue to offer its membership with no monthly subscription fees.

Oct 4

Umar Shakir

The Durham, NC-based EV charging company backed by eight automakers, including BMW, Honda, General Motors, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and most recently Toyota, is building its first “Rechargery” location in Apex, North Carolina. The location will offer 10 bays with CCS and NACS ports supporting 400kW charging. Apex is outside the Hurricane Helene disaster zone, where residents have reported using their EVs to power their homes during blackouts.

Sep 27

Umar Shakir

Edmunds’ Jonathan Eifalan tested charging a Rivian R1T at a Tesla Supercharger using the sparsely available NACS adapter and noted that not every V3 Supercharger is showing up on the Rivian charging station map yet.

Tesla first enabled Supercharger access for Ford before adding it for Rivian, and most recently added GM to the list — with Kia scheduled for next year.

[Edmunds]

Sep 24

Umar Shakir

Kia is setting January 15th as the date its electric vehicles will get access to “more than 16,500” Tesla Superchargers. Kia will provide free NACS adapters to people who got their EV9 or EV6 after September 4th, 2024, but all existing owners will have to pay an as-yet-unspecified amount.

The free adapters will start shipping to customers in early 2025, while current owners can purchase the adapter at an authorized Kia dealer “at a later date.” GM similarly announced last week that its EV customers would have to pay $225 for the NACS adapter to add Tesla Supercharger access.

Sep 18

Andrew J. Hawkins

Public EV charging often involves juggling a variety of apps, each with its own bespoke sign-up process, and attempting (and often failing) to tap or swipe a credit card to pay for the charge. Occasionally, there’s a QR code involved. Overall, it’s a pain in the ass — and an obstacle to widespread EV adoption.

Now, one EV charging operator is betting that computer vision can help take the stress out of it. Revel, the shared moped-turned-ridehail service, is partnering with a startup called Juice to install smart cameras at its EV charging sites in New York City that are mostly utilized by rideshare drivers. By using computer vision, Juice can identify the model and license plate of the vehicle in need of charging and, then after an initial sign-up, will initiate the charge without any additional work by the driver. No apps to download, no juggling various credit cards. Just flowing electrons.

Sep 18

Andrew J. Hawkins

General Motors says it has updated the software in its electric vehicles so its customers can finally use Tesla’s Supercharging network.

To gain immediate access, owners of electric Chevy, Cadillac, and GMC vehicles will need to purchase “GM approved” Tesla adapters through each brand’s smartphone app for $225. Future GM vehicles will come with Tesla’s charging port natively installed.

Sep 11

Umar Shakir

Lucid revealed new information about the EV charge port of its upcoming Gravity SUV and teased an all-new, more affordable vehicle at Tuesday’s Technology and Manufacturing Day event.

The Lucid Gravity, slated for its first deliveries later this year, will come equipped with a native Tesla-compatible port “in 2025.” The Tesla connector, now known as the North American Charging Standard, or NACS, is being adopted by largely every auto manufacturer for their future EVs.

Sep 3

Umar Shakir

The 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 refresh revealed today looks like it will be one of the first non-Tesla vehicles to get a native Tesla-based charging port, now known as the North American Charging Standard, or NACS, built in from the factory. Last year, largely every automaker selling electric cars in the US announced it was adopting the connector, but most haven’t added the port on their new cars yet, forcing customers to rely on CCS-to-NACS adapters that Tesla is taking a while to distribute.

We’ve seen prototypes of the new Rivian R2 with NACS, but that vehicle is not slated for release until 2026. While Ioniq 5 buyers won’t need an adapter at Tesla stations, the company will give owners a dongle that goes the other way in case they need to charge somewhere that only has Combined Charging System (CCS) plugs available.

Aug 28

Umar Shakir

The Leaf still hasn’t quite gone quietly into the night. Instead, Nissan is revitalizing its bi-directional charging abilities by approving new vehicle-to-grid charging hardware from Fermata Energy. Compared to the previous hardware, the new FE-20 is cheaper and supports 33 percent more power and additional UL and IEEE certifications. I’d say it’s a small win for the dying CHAdeMO charging port standard, too.

[Nissan USA]

Aug 28

Andrew J. Hawkins

It’s been more than 16 months since Ford kicked off the auto industry’s switch to Tesla’s North American Charging Standard, and so far, it and Rivian are the only two companies with access. The bottleneck seems to be the lack of adapters — though Tesla recently said it has increased production to 8,000-a-week at its Buffalo gigafactory. But in the meantime, industry heads are getting worried:

The delays have fueled speculation that Mr. Musk was having second thoughts about opening up Tesla’s network, possibly because he was worried that access would help other automakers sell battery-powered models and lure customers from Tesla, which has suffered from declining sales.

[The New York Times]

Aug 27

Andrew J. Hawkins

The Biden administration says that the number of EV charging stations in the US has doubled since 2021 as it announces another round of grants for states looking to install more charging locations.

The administration claims that there are now over 192,000 publicly available charging ports in the US, with approximately 1,000 new public chargers being added each week. That’s up from approximately 100,000 ports that were in operation at the outset of 2021 when President Joe Biden first took office.

Aug 8

Umar Shakir

ChargePoint has a new plug system for its charging stations that will make it easier for EV drivers to select the correct connecter for their electric vehicle. The new plug, called Omni Port, works by automatically installing an adapter (or excluding one) to the tip of the connector when you’re ready to charge, which means Tesla owners won’t need to bring out their adapter.

In a press release, ChargePoint CEO Rick Wilmer says Omni Port solves “the challenges associated with a multiple connector environment” and gives Tesla and non-Tesla drivers a “world-class” experience. As North American automakers transition to use the new NACS standard that’s based on Tesla’s connector, current drivers will continue needing access to J1772 Level 2 ports as well as CCS1 ports for DC fast charging. Yeah, charging is kind of a mess.

Aug 6

Umar Shakir

The experience of charging an electric vehicle in the US could be better, and a big new study is out that lists the biggest infrastructure pain points, including a failure to report broken stalls, inaccurate station status messages, aging equipment, and some habitually unreliable network providers (who go unnamed in the study, unfortunately).

The study was conducted by the company ChargerHelp, which offers EV charger operations and maintenance solutions. The firm also had its findings reviewed and confirmed by Professor Gil Tal, who is director of the Electric Vehicle Research Center at UC Davis. ChargerHelp used four years of data from the 20,000 chargers it monitors, comparing networked stations’ self-reported uptime against the actual uptime EV drivers find on location.

Jul 17

Andrew J. Hawkins

Mercedes-Benz and Starbucks are teaming up to install fast electric vehicle chargers at 100 coffee-slinging locations on Interstate 5, which runs along the West Coast from Canada to Mexico.

The new stations will be part of the German automaker’s $1 billion plan to build 2,000 new EV charging hubs across the globe. Its first station, complete with a swanky waiting area and 400kW charging speeds courtesy of ChargePoint, opened in Atlanta last year.

Jul 16

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

Generac — a power and energy management company known for its gas-powered home backup generators — has released its first electric vehicle charger. The new charger joins the company’s home battery solution in its move toward clean energy. Generac also owns Ecobee, a smart thermostat company.

The Generac Level 2 charger costs $649 for the 40amp version or $699 for the 48amp model and is compatible with all EVs on the market today, including Tesla vehicles with an adapter. It has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity for managing scheduled charging with the Generac EV charging app.

Jul 15

Umar Shakir

Ford is taking the opportunity to advertise its Pro Power Onboard generators available in some F-150 models, including gas and Lightning EV versions, after Hurricane Beryl caused major outages in the Houston area. Product communications director Mike Levine posted a map showing where F-150 trucks generated at least one kilowatt of electricity.

Correction: Corrected the spelling of Mike Levine’s name.

Jul 10

Umar Shakir

The world’s biggest car company is joining seven other automakers, including BMW, Honda, General Motors, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis. Ionna plans to install a few chargers by the end of this year, and more than 30,000 across North America by 2030. By that time, Toyota and Lexus together plan to offer 30 EV models globally, the company says.

Jun 18

Andrew J. Hawkins

South Korea’s LG Electronics is teaming up with ChargePoint to install more electric vehicle charging stations in the US, the companies announced today.

As part of the deal, ChargePoint will provide software to operate LG’s EV chargers, and LG will supply ChargePoint with hardware to bolster its network of 306,000 charge ports. The companies say they plan coming together to jointly install “commercial charging solutions,” with the first deliveries expected later this summer.

Jun 14

Umar Shakir

After opening its first charging hub in Atlanta, which features 400kW chargers by ChargePoint, the automaker will now install Alphitronic HYC400 models at new locations later this year. It has two plugs, supports CCS and Tesla’s NACS, and features dynamic load sharing, i.e. one car can charge at 150kW while the other at 250kW. It’s part of Mercedez-Benz’s $1 billion investment to build 400 EV charging hubs.

Jun 13

Umar Shakir

Porsche EV and PHEV owners can soon use the My Porsche app to pay and charge at ChargePoint stations in North America. Unfortunately, it’s not a plug and charge system, but soon the Porsche Charging Service will include “more than 100,000” stations when the collaboration goes live in Q4 2024 — after the launch of the new 2025 Porsche Taycan and Macan Electric SUV.

Jun 11

Abigail Bassett

Late last year, seven automakers — BMW, Honda, General Motors, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis — announced plans for a joint venture to build easy-to-access public DC fast charging infrastructure in the US and Canada.

The resulting company, Ionna, announced today that its headquarters will be in Durham, North Carolina and feature what the company is calling a “Quarterback Lab,” designed to help each participating car company address charging issues following software updates, tackle customer issues closer to the source, and offer interoperability testing. It was a sign that the new venture was thinking critically about how to fix EV charging in the US.

May 29

Justine Calma

New AI tools could give utilities real-time data to make the power grid and EV charging more reliable, a very small study by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) and startup Utilidata suggests.

The researchers are using AI to analyze EV charging behavior, hoping those insights might improve the experience for drivers and help utilities prepare for the spike in electricity demand. So far, they’ve found that EV charging can draw power inconsistently and lower power quality, which can wear out charging equipment.

May 22

Umar Shakir

Airbnb is partnering with ChargePoint to provide hosts a discounted option to buy, install, and manage a home EV charger that can help attract EV owners as guests.

Airbnb hosts can purchase these special EV charging packages through a new dedicated online store that offers the charging hardware, installation services, and support services, all in one place. Hosts will get up to 36 percent off the cost of select ChargePoint hardware models, with prices starting at $399. There’s also discounts on other stations, and $100 off on installation services through the site.

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