Last week I wondered how other EV manufacturers would fare in the sudden rapid adoption of Tesla's "NACS" charger plug:
"Only time will tell but the dominoes are falling."
https://timemachiner.io/2023/06/13/teslas-supercharger-superpowers/
Now today Rivian has announced they'll switch from CCS to NACS beginning next year. This adds a third non-Tesla manufacturer to the list of companies outright changing the types of plugs on their cars. Jonathan M. Gitlin at Ars Technica has more.
[T]oday Rivian revealed that it, too, is switching from CCS to NACS, Tesla's competing standard, in 2024. Unlike the two automakers that preceded it, Rivian did not have to join Tesla CEO Elon Musk in a Twitter Space to announce the news.
"We’re excited to work with Tesla and to see collaborations like this help advance the world toward carbon neutrality. The adoption of the North American Charging Standard will enable our existing and future customers to leverage Tesla’s expansive Supercharger network while we continue to build out our Rivian Adventure Network. We look forward to continuing to find new ways to accelerate EV adoption," said Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe in a statement.
In an email to customers, Rivian said that it would make adapters available, so people should not wait for the factory to switch over to the NACS port from CCS1. It also says that it will add Tesla charging sites to its mobile and vehicle navigation apps. From 2025, it will start building NACS ports into its vehicles.
Ars Technica
Rivian is new to the EV game, but they're shipping cars and I'm seeing more of them on the road as the months pass. Personally, I love the styling of the headlights. It may not be selling tons and tons of cars right now, but the fact that a company that has only been around a short time now switching to NACS is a big deal. Any EV company currently developing a car (cough:Not-a-Delorean:cough) must decide whether to go with CCS, a standard in existence for years, or the sudden "standard" that Tesla invented, opened up a few months ago, and will profit from because of their Supercharger network.
If the biggies like Ford and GM signed up and now an up-and-comer like Rivian has done the same, that leaves Hyundai / Kia and VW as the biggest players who have to make a decision. Given how fast things are happening, I wouldn't be surprised if there's more next week on this.