Reuters reports that Tesla’s push for its charging connector to be the national standard has gained more momentum as Volvo announces plans to incorporate the design into its future plans.
Though the federal government has pushed for Combined Charging System (CCS) to be the dominant system, the Tesla-made charging connectors for electric vehicles–referred to by the company as the North American Charging Standard (NACS)–have gained much support recently.
Texas and Washington will now require NACS connectors to be included in state-funded chargers. With Volvo’s announcement, they now join automakers General Motors, Ford, and Rivian in committing to the NACS charging connectors.
Though SAE International has not approved Tesla’s connectors, the organization has been having conversations with automakers and the government about it becoming standardized and plans to create an industry-standard configuration within the next six months or sooner.
“There was a real, I think, common sense of urgency and purpose between industry and government,” said SAE International’s President of Sustainable Mobility Solutions, Frank Menchaca. “The important thing to understand about this process is that it's no longer controlled by one company. It's really all companies coming together to write a standard about how to develop for this plug.”
