EDITORIAL: EV charging is about more than a connector

It was impossible to miss in late May what surely will be one of the year's highest-profile electrification stories. Ford, quickly followed by GM and many others, announced they will adopt the Tesla-developed “North American Charging Standard” (NACS) EV charging connector (see pg. 4). The shift ostensibly displaces the SAE International-developed Standard J1772 “Combined Charging System” (CCS) connector that has been the predominant connector standard for just about every EV that isn't a Tesla.

Although most who've handled both connectors wouldn't argue the NACS connector and its thinner cable generally is more user-friendly, the more impactful aspect of the connector transition “deal” was that much of Tesla's vaunted Supercharger public DC fast-charging network - some 12,000 chargers at 2000 sites in North America - will be available to non-Tesla EVs starting next year. This was the Holy Grail for Ford, GM and others anxious to reassure current and future EV purchase “intenders,” because the Supercharger network is a model of ubiquity and reliability, while the charging “experience” from all the other public-charging providers pretty much stinks.