Toyota and its luxury brand Lexus announced today that they will adopt the Tesla North American Charging Standard (NACS) beginning in 2025. All Toyota and Lexus electric vehicles sold in the U.S. starting in 2025 will come equipped with the NACS connector, and existing owners will be provided with adapters to access Tesla’s nationwide Supercharger network.
The move is a major win for the NACS standard, which offers faster charging speeds and a smaller connector size compared to the currently dominant CCS standard. Tesla opened up its proprietary connector design to other automakers in 2021 but faced an uphill battle getting companies to switch from CCS.
Now, with industry leaders Toyota and Lexus making the change, momentum appears to be shifting in favor of NACS. A number of other major automakers have also recently announced plans to adopt NACS, including Ford, GM, Hyundai, Kia, Honda, Nissan, Polestar, Volvo, Rivian, Mercedes-Benz, and Fisker.
Experts say this coalescing around a single fast charging standard will make the transition to electric vehicles easier for consumers. “Drivers will no longer have to worry about finding a compatible charger. The network effect of nearly all automakers using NACS will rapidly expand the charging infrastructure in the U.S.,” said Dr. Kelly Anderson, Professor of Sustainable Transport at the University of Michigan.
Toyota and Lexus had been holdouts sticking with the CCS standard but seem to have decided that NACS is becoming inevitable. “This move signals that Toyota is finally getting serious about electric vehicles and intends to be fully competitive in the EV space,” Anderson said.
With major automakers lined up behind NACS, more charging stations and other infrastructure players are expected to swiftly move to adopt it as well. This increased availability will alleviate range anxiety and other concerns that have thus far slowed EV adoption for many consumers.
Toyota and Lexus EVs with NACS built-in will start to hit the market in 2025. Until then, CCS will remain the standard for new Toyota and Lexus vehicles. Owners of existing EVs will be contacted next year regarding NACS adapter installation.
