Ford is getting a leg up on its non-Tesla EV competitors, announcing a deal with Tesla that will open up the more than 12,000 Superchargers in the U.S. to Ford EVs.
Starting in 2024, existing Ford Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning and E-Transit owners will be able to charge at Supercharger stations with an adapter while next generation Ford EVs will come standard with a Supercharger port, which is known officially as the North American Charging Standard (NACS).
Next-gen Ford EVs will still have access to the CCS and J-1772 chargers, although Ford didn’t immediately specify whether that be via an adapter or second charging port. There was no mention of whether the discontinued Ford Focus EV will be able to use the NACS adapter.
Here’s the news release from Ford:
DEARBORN, Mich., May 25, 2023 – Ford Motor Company said today it reached an agreement with Tesla Motors that will provide Ford electric vehicle customers access to more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers across the U.S. and Canada, doubling the number of fast-chargers available to Ford EV customers starting Spring 2024.
“This is great news for our customers who will have unprecedented access to the largest network of fast-chargers in the U.S. and Canada with 12,000+ Tesla Superchargers plus 10,000+ fast-chargers already in the BlueOval Charge Network,” said Jim Farley, Ford president and CEO. “Widespread access to fast-charging is absolutely vital to our growth as an EV brand, and this breakthrough agreement comes as we are ramping up production of our popular Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning, and preparing to launch a series of next-generation EVs starting in 2025.”
Added Rebecca Tinucci, Tesla’s senior director of charging infrastructure: “We’ve spent the last 10 years building an industry-leading Charging Network that enables freedom to travel and provides charging confidence for our Tesla owners. We’re excited to deliver on our mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy by welcoming Ford owners, and other electric vehicles who adopt NACS, to our thousands of Superchargers across North America.”
A Tesla-developed adapter will provide Ford F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit vehicles fitted with the Combined Charging System (CCS) port access to Tesla’s V3 Superchargers. Ford will equip future EVs with the NACS charge port, removing the need for an adapter for direct access to Tesla Superchargers, starting in 2025.
“Tesla has led the industry in creating a large, reliable and efficient charging system and we are pleased to be able to join forces in a way that benefits customers and overall EV adoption,” said Marin Gjaja, chief customer officer, Ford Model e. “The Tesla Supercharger network has excellent reliability and the NACS plug is smaller and lighter. Overall, this provides a superior experience for customers.”
The BlueOval Charge Network is already North America’s largest public charging network with over 84,000 chargers including access to over 10,000 public DC fast-chargers. Adding more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers creates the single largest integrated fast-charge network across the U.S. and Canada, designed to significantly reduce charge anxiety for Ford customers, with automatic routing to the nearest charger and seamless billing via FordPass.
Additionally, Ford dealers are adding roughly 1,800 public-facing fast-chargers and locations to the BlueOval Charge Network by early 2024.