More from All the news about EV charging in the US
Edmunds’ Jonathan Eifalan tested charging a Rivian R1T at a Tesla Supercharger using the sparsely available NACS adapter and noted that not every V3 Supercharger is showing up on the Rivian charging station map yet.
Tesla first enabled Supercharger access for Ford before adding it for Rivian, and most recently added GM to the list — with Kia scheduled for next year.
The Leaf still hasn’t quite gone quietly into the night. Instead, Nissan is revitalizing its bi-directional charging abilities by approving new vehicle-to-grid charging hardware from Fermata Energy. Compared to the previous hardware, the new FE-20 is cheaper and supports 33 percent more power and additional UL and IEEE certifications. I’d say it’s a small win for the dying CHAdeMO charging port standard, too.
It’s been more than 16 months since Ford kicked off the auto industry’s switch to Tesla’s North American Charging Standard, and so far, it and Rivian are the only two companies with access. The bottleneck seems to be the lack of adapters — though Tesla recently said it has increased production to 8,000-a-week at its Buffalo gigafactory. But in the meantime, industry heads are getting worried:
The delays have fueled speculation that Mr. Musk was having second thoughts about opening up Tesla’s network, possibly because he was worried that access would help other automakers sell battery-powered models and lure customers from Tesla, which has suffered from declining sales.
[The New York Times]
Ford is taking the opportunity to advertise its Pro Power Onboard generators available in some F-150 models, including gas and Lightning EV versions, after Hurricane Beryl caused major outages in the Houston area. Product communications director Mike Levine posted a map showing where F-150 trucks generated at least one kilowatt of electricity.
Correction: Corrected the spelling of Mike Levine’s name.
The world’s biggest car company is joining seven other automakers, including BMW, Honda, General Motors, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis. Ionna plans to install a few chargers by the end of this year, and more than 30,000 across North America by 2030. By that time, Toyota and Lexus together plan to offer 30 EV models globally, the company says.
After opening its first charging hub in Atlanta, which features 400kW chargers by ChargePoint, the automaker will now install Alphitronic HYC400 models at new locations later this year. It has two plugs, supports CCS and Tesla’s NACS, and features dynamic load sharing, i.e. one car can charge at 150kW while the other at 250kW. It’s part of Mercedez-Benz’s $1 billion investment to build 400 EV charging hubs.
Porsche EV and PHEV owners can soon use the My Porsche app to pay and charge at ChargePoint stations in North America. Unfortunately, it’s not a plug and charge system, but soon the Porsche Charging Service will include “more than 100,000” stations when the collaboration goes live in Q4 2024 — after the launch of the new 2025 Porsche Taycan and Macan Electric SUV.
The charging network operator says the Megawatt Charging System (MCS) standard is coming to its Power Link 2000 stations. It’ll support 1.2 megawatts now and 3 megawatts in the future. There aren’t a lot of supported commercial electric vehicles yet, although early Tesla Semi units were on board.
After Tesla CEO Elon Musk fired the entire 500 Supercharger team, a TikTok user noticed that all the cables at this Vallejo, Calif. station had been severed, rendering it useless. Vandalism? Or thieves looking to extract the valuable copper from inside the cables?
After laying off 500 members of the Tesla Supercharger team and sending the EV charging world into turmoil, Tesla is looking to rehire some of the personnel. As Bloomberg reports, one of the major returns is director for charging for North America Max De Zegher, who apparently worked right under ousted director Rebecca Tinucci.
Android phones are reportedly getting a Google Maps update that finally lets EV drivers filter for charging stations, making them easier to find. Last month, Maps gained an AI-powered station locator assistant. Will we see the features soon on other Maps screens like on cars with Google built-in or ones with Android Automotive?