Polestar Announces Major Tesla Charging Network Deal for North America

Polestar, a Swedish electric car maker, announced a significant Tesla agreement on Thursday. Starting the following year, Polestar EV drivers in North America will have access to over 12,000 Tesla charging points.

The latest deal intends to speed up the adoption of electric cars in the North American region and improve charging infrastructure's use and accessibility for Polestar customers.

Beginning in 2025, all new Polestar cars sold in North America will use the Tesla-designed North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector as a standard feature, according to CNBC.

By the middle of 2024, Polestar also intends to provide adapters so that current customers may use the Tesla charging network. To ensure compatibility, Polestar vehicles with NACS connections will also come with Combined Charging System (CCS) adapters.

A Win-Win Partnership

The collaboration supports Tesla's efforts to make NACS the United States' preeminent plug and port standard, per Bloomberg. Among other significant manufacturers, Ford, General Motors, Rivian, and Volvo Car recently signed partnerships with Tesla and endorsed the dependability of Tesla's charging network over CCS substitutes. According to reports, the Supercharger network Tesla operates has a solid reputation for reliability and performance.

Thomas Ingenlath, CEO of Polestar, praised Tesla's innovative efforts in popularizing electric cars and welcomed the Supercharger network's accessibility to Polestar drivers. As a result of the agreement, consumers will benefit from a more extensive charging network and convenience, which is projected to enhance EV adoption rates in this crucial automotive market considerably.

EV Manufacturers Adopting NACS Plug

Although most non-Tesla EVs and charging stations in North America use the CCS connector, recent research has shown that CCS charging networks are less reliable than Tesla's infrastructure. Additionally, critics have noted that CCS plugs are bigger and heavier than NACS plugs, which might pose difficulties for specific drivers.

By using Tesla's well-proven plug design and increasing the number of charging choices available to its consumers, Polestar hopes to allay these worries with the help of the collaboration.

Following Ford's example, General Motors, Rivian, Volvo, and Rivian all reached deals with Tesla to provide EV drivers access to the Supercharger network. Each manufacturer is trying to build adapters compatible with Tesla's charging stations; Ford and GM want to have them available next year; Rivian hopes to have them in the spring of 2024; and Volvo hopes to have them available in the first half of 2024, Electrek reported.

Polestar projects a further 16% to 46% rise in deliveries (60,000 to 70,000 cars) in 2023, building on a solid year of over 51,000 vehicle deliveries in 2022. The business is preparing for the Q1 2024 release of the Polestar 3, its first electric SUV.