Ford is the first Detroit Three automaker to include Tesla’s charging system for EVs.
Standardization is important for the widespread adoption of any mass consumer technology. The Edison lamp base is an example, as is the standardized shape and form of gasoline and diesel fuel pump nozzles worldwide. Electric vehicle charging has yet to develop a single global standard, and the two largest currently are Tesla’s NACS and CCS, which are used by the majority of other electric vehicle makers. Ford has taken a significant step in incorporating Tesla supercharger locations into the company’s charging network for Mustang, F-150 and Transit electric vehicles.
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Episode Transcript:
In the global automotive industry, every significant player now offers electric vehicles, and the segment has become highly competitive. Ford and Tesla are strong competitors, and in a surprise move this week, the companies announced that starting early next year, Ford EV users will have access to Tesla Superchargers across the U.S. and Canada, adding over 12,000 charging points to Ford’s existing BlueOval DC faster charging network of 10,000 units across North America.
Users will access Tesla superchargers through Ford software and will initially use an adapter to connect Tesla’s NACS plug to Ford’s existing CCS vehicle socket. Ford F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit vehicles will be the first to ship with the adapters. Starting in 2025, Ford EV’s will ship with NACS sockets built in, eliminating the need for an adapter.
The agreement is in addition to Ford’s buildout of its BlueOval charge network, which will see Ford dealers adding approximately 1,800 publicly accessible fast chargers to that system by early 2024.
The lack of interchangeability between Tesla and CCS charging stations and electric vehicles has been cited by many as a major obstacle to widespread adoption of electric vehicles in the light vehicle segment. The Tesla standard represents the largest single network, charging the best-selling single electric vehicle brand, but CCS is used by the majority of electric vehicle automakers.
Interchangeability between connectors is a start, and the Tesla system uses a smaller and lighter connector. But the key to charging is intelligent control of charging rates, especially in fast charging where heat rise and reduced battery life can result from poor charging methodology. The software is key, both for engineering reasons and for the very valuable data that can be scraped from any network they can identify individual vehicles and their use patterns nationwide.
While the new agreement means that Ford EV owners will use familiar Ford software to charge their vehicles at Tesla superchargers, the announcement does not state whether Tesla will have access to the data generated by Ford vehicles using their system.
The benefits for Ford owners are obvious: decreased charge anxiety during cross-country travel, the ability to use Ford’s software for billing and automatic routing to the nearest charger, and the ability of homeowners with Tesla chargers in their driveway to potentially trade for a Ford EV. It’s unclear at this time whether the additional Ford vehicle traffic at Tesla superchargers will upset Tesla owners, and the agreement is notably not reciprocal, so Tesla owners will not have access to Ford’s BlueOval network.
In the move to standardization, this agreement is pivotal: if other manufacturers follow suit, Tesla’s NACS port may become the de facto standard, or EV makers may engineer their products to accept either a Supercharger or CCS plug, with software to suit. The agreement notably doesn’t address how revenue from consumer charging will be apportioned between Ford and Tesla. On the software side, EV users have the choice of vehicle manufacturers’ software or that of third-party charge providers, but either way EV charging is still more complex than filling a tank with gasoline.
With the Ford Tesla agreement, the future for electric vehicle owners may be platform agnostic, with charging at any station, and a single smart phone app making it easier for electric vehicle owners to travel cross-country in the years to come.