Hyundai and Kia get Tesla NACS and Supercharger access in late 2024 after announcing rival charging network mere months earlier

The North American EV industry's recent move to adopt Tesla's NACS en masse took a brief intermission before Hyundai and Kia - two out of three brands that make up the Hyundai Motor Group - announced that they would be adopting Tesla's NACS hardware and gaining access to the Supercharger network in Q4 2024. Genesis, Hyundai's and Kia's sister brand, was missing from the announcement, but it will likely follow suit soon enough, given that the brands often share vehicle platforms and tech.

In a previous statementhyundai had stated that the Tesla Supercharger network was inadequate for the 800 V platforms found in modern electric vehicles, but perhaps a versatile, if imperfect, solution was enough to persuade Hyundai and Kia to adopt Tesla's NACS hardware.

Having this kind of sprawling access to chargers will no doubt boost customer satisfaction, elevate the EV ownership experience, and enable drivers to reach more destinations across the continent on electricity. - Seungkyu (Sean) Yoon, president & CEO, Kia North America and Kia America

At the time of writing, Tesla's Supercharger network consists of over 12,000 chargers in North America. Starting in Q4 2024, both Hyundai and Kia will start adding NACS plugs to their electric vehicles, and NACS-to-CCS-1 adaptors "are expected to be made available through Kia dealers starting in Q1 2025." Owners will likely have to purchase an adaptor, though.

It's unclear whether The Hyundai Group will continue to pursue the rival charging network joint venture it started with the likes of BMW, GM, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis, but access to the well-established Tesla Supercharger network can only help sales for Hyundai and Kia. Further, since NACS is now an open standard, the charging joint venture should be able to make use of the same interface for any EV chargers, too.

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