Honda and its luxury brand Acura have confirmed that they will adopt Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) charging connector in North America. The decision was announced by American Honda Motor Co. President and CEO Noriya Kaihara in an interview with Motor1.com. Kaihara emphasized the importance of pushing for the adoption of NACS: “It is quite important. We also have to push NACS, as well. It is clear.”

Specific details regarding when the first Honda and Acura all-electric models will feature NACS charging inlets are still unknown. However, Kaihara mentioned that it will depend on General Motors (GM). The first two all-electric Honda and Acura models will be based on GM’s Ultium platform and produced at GM’s plants. Therefore, the adoption of NACS by Honda and Acura will follow GM’s switch to the charging standard: “Maybe 2025 or 2026 timing,” Kaihara noted. “For ZDX… we clearly depend on GM. So once they do [switch to NACS], it will follow for ZDX after that.”

GM itself has already committed to transitioning from CCS1 to NACS starting in 2025, indicating a high possibility that Honda and Acura will be ready for NACS adoption by 2025 or 2026. However, initially, the first Honda Prologue and recently unveiled Acura ZDX battery electric vehicles (BEVs) will be equipped with the Combined Charging System (CCS1).

In addition to joining the NACS coalition, Honda is also developing its own platform for future all-electric models that will succeed the initial two Ultium-based BEVs. It is expected that these upcoming models will support NACS charging right from the start.

Furthermore, Honda, along with BMW Group, General Motors, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis, plans to establish a joint venture fast charging network in North America. The aim is to create a secure, reliable, and accessible charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.

Jay Joseph, American Honda’s Vice President of Sustainability and Business Development, highlighted the importance of reliable software and capable hardware for the new network: “The software needs to be really reliable and really open infrastructure so it communicates with every OEM’s software. The hardware needs to be capable of the highest levels of charging. It needs to be secure, it needs to be reliable, it needs to be accessible.” Joseph also emphasized the excellent maintenance of Tesla’s Supercharging network as an important aspect to consider for the new network’s success.