Owners of electric vehicles from Toyota and Lexus will soon have access to more than 12,000 of Tesla’s Supercharger DC fast chargers located across North America.
Toyota on Thursday announced it has reached an agreement with Tesla to gain access to its network of charging stations in North America, as well as to adopt the EV company’s proprietary charging connector known as NACS (North American Charging Standard). The agreement also covers Lexus.
Certain Toyota and Lexus EVs sold in the U.S. will feature the NACS connector built-in starting in 2025. Among them will be a Toyota three-row electric SUV that will be built in Kentucky and spawn a Lexus twin.
Owners of Toyota and Lexus EVs with a CCS connector, including those already on the road, will be given an adapter for access to Tesla’s chargers, also starting in 2025.
Tesla Supercharger connector – now called NACS
The move will significantly increase the number of DC fast chargers available to Toyota and Lexus owners. Tesla’s Superchargers currently represent about 60% of DC fast chargers in the U.S., according to the Department of Energy. Tesla started opening its chargers to rival brands following a deal made with the White House in February.
BMW (and Mini and Rolls-Royce), Fisker, Ford, Honda (and Acura), Hyundai (and Genesis), Jaguar, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Polestar, Rivian, and Volvo have also made deals with Tesla to use its charging stations, and many of those companies have also announced plans to adopt the NACS connector for their vehicles in North America. Stellantis and Volkswagen have indicated that they may also follow suit.
While Toyota has been slow to jump on the EV bandwagon, it’s now planning one of the biggest EV onslaughts in the industry. Toyota has previously promised to launch 30 EVs worldwide by 2030 and make Lexus an EV brand by the same date in the U.S., Europe, and China, and the rest of the world by 2035. The automaker is also thought to be leading when it comes to solid-state batteries, a technology that promises to deliver significantly more range and faster charge times than current batteries.
