Tesla's Influence Grows Amid Mixed Electric Vehicle Charging Standards
Following Ford Motor Company, General Motors (GM), the No. 1 automaker in the United States, has decided to use Tesla's electric vehicle charger network, the 'Supercharger.' Amid the coexistence of two different electric vehicle charging systems within the industry, Tesla's influence on determining the electric vehicle charging standard in North America is expected to grow significantly.
On the 8th (local time), Mary Barra, GM's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), shared this news on her Twitter, stating, "We are excited about what this partnership means for our customers and the industry." Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, also retweeted GM's announcement of the partnership and wrote, "Glad to be working together."
The currently common electric vehicle charging standard is the Combined Charging System (CCS·DC Combo). However, Tesla has maintained a separate charging standard called the North American Charging Standard (NACS), which prevented other brand electric vehicles from using the Supercharger network. The detailed regulations for electric vehicle charger subsidies announced by the U.S. White House and Department of Transportation in February included a clause requiring the use of the CCS standard to qualify for subsidies.
However, the atmosphere changed when Ford Motor Company formed a partnership with Tesla on the 25th of last month. Ford announced that starting early next year, its electric vehicles will be able to use the Supercharger network, which has about 12,000 locations installed across North America, including the U.S. and Canada. Although Ford electric vehicle users will initially need to install a separate adapter to use the Supercharger, from 2025, Ford plans to equip its electric vehicles with Tesla's charging standard, allowing charging without an adapter.
GM's recent announcement is similar. GM also explained that it will equip electric vehicles produced from 2025 with Tesla's charging standard. GM plans to produce one million electric vehicles in the U.S. alone in 2025.
In an interview with CNBC, CEO Barra stated that this partnership will save up to $400 million (approximately 520 billion KRW) from the funds initially intended for building electric vehicle charging facilities in the U.S. and Canada.
Bloomberg reported, "GM's move ends the hesitation among automakers and their charging network partners," adding, "If the three major U.S. automakers join, the industry's previous standard, CCS, will be abandoned, creating pressure to follow the new standard."
CEO Barra evaluated that providing customers access to the Supercharger will accelerate electric vehicle adoption and that switching to Tesla's charging method will help move toward a single charging standard in North America.
Following the announcement after market close, GM's stock price rose nearly 4% in after-hours trading, while Tesla's stock price increased by more than 5%.
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