As Toyota gets serious about its BEV strategy, it embraces the Supercharger.
Another one bites the dust. Today, Toyota announced that its future EVs, along with those from Lexus, will join more than a dozen other automakers in moving to Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) plug standard.
“In line with Toyota’s vehicle electrification strategy that offers a plethora of options for electrified powertrains, Toyota and Lexus customers will have convenient access to more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers across North America,” the automaker said in a statement.
Toyota said this plug will come to “certain” EVs starting in 2025 — more on that in a bit — and that existing cars on the Combined Charging System (CCS) plugs will get Tesla Supercharger access via an adapter that same year.
The current plug on Toyota’s bZ4x.
At this point, the news is hardly surprising. Just this week alone, the BMW Group also announced a switch away from the CCS plugs that currently make up much of America’s public charging now to opt for Tesla’s format instead. More and more automakers have been going this way since Ford initially announced its plans to do so this summer. Currently, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia and several other automakers and their brands have all announced a switch to NACS.
Typically, these changes go into effect with new cars starting in 2025, and as is the case with Toyota, existing cars will be able to access these networks with an adapter. Additionally, more and more charging companies like ChargePoint and Electrify America are beginning to adopt NACS too, especially as it becomes a proper SAE standard called J3400.
Toyota did not say which EVs will use the NACS plug, but we do know that big changes are headed its way soon as it ramps up EV and battery production under the leadership of its new chief executive, Koji Sato. Among other things, Toyota is planning a from-the-ground-up BEV platform; new manufacturing techniques to match what Tesla and the Chinese automakers can do; high-range solid-state batteries; and as many as 10 new Toyota and Lexus BEV models potentially by 2026. It’s entirely possible that the electric bZ4x, which has been a slow seller met with tepid reviews, could be replaced by one of those newer BEVs by then.
Interestingly, a Toyota North America spokesperson declined to say what, if anything, this means for the company’s lineup of plug-in hybrids, which currently use a conventional J1772 plug. It’s unclear if those could somehow incorporate NACS plugs too, even for the slower charging typical of hybrid cars.
All in all, it’s another huge win for Tesla’s plug, which seems destined to indeed become the North American Charging Standard soon enough. And it’s great news for the buyers who have been waiting for Toyota’s electric vehicles to arrive in force; now, all of those cars will also get access to Supercharger stations across the country. At this point, it’s not a question of who’s next to make the switch; it’s more about who’s left.
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Keyword: Toyota, Lexus Are Latest To Switch To Tesla's NACS Plug