Chargepoint to provide native NACS connectors

Tesla’s proprietary North American Charging Standard (NACS) keeps scoring wins, as US charging firm Chargepoint will now add native NACS connectors to its nationwide network, eliminating the need for adaptors to charge Tesla EVs on its infrastructure.

Cable conversion kits for existing DC fast chargers will be delivered to customers in November in a rollout Chargepoint says will be largely completed in a month.

The firm hails the move as making it the “first in the charging industry to ship a native DC connector that is compatible with Tesla vehicles”. It will also offers AC solutions, “negating the need for a cumbersome adapter to charge”.

The new infrastructure will “offer Tesla drivers a public fast charging alternative for the first time”.

And cables for Chargepoint’s Home Flex charging solution will ship this month for installation in residential homes and garages for Tesla owners without the firm’s proprietary domestic solutions to charge privately adapter-free.

Chargepoint CEO Pasquale Romano acknowledges that the sheer size of Tesla’s market share is simply too big a carrot for any charging company to resist.

“With more than 35mn historical Chargepoint sessions initiated by Tesla vehicles, we saw the need to offer native connector solutions for this large portion of the EV market,” the CEO says.

Chargepoint is not an owner-operator of chargers but instead largely makes its money selling pre-networked chargers to companies to install at destinations, roadside locations or workplaces. It can then offer management of and software services to these chargers.

The company currently has over 35,000 charging locations across the US and Canada.

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