Volvo and Polestar — two Swedish car brands owned by China’s Geely — are now offering their electric vehicle customers access to Tesla’s Supercharger network. The companies are taking orders for adapters that will allow its EV customers to charge at over 17,800 Supercharger stalls across the country.
Tesla’s superior charging experience and the ubiquity of its Superchargers has spurred the entire auto industry to announce support for the company’s North American Charging Standard (NACS). All non-Tesla EVs will require adapters at first, but automakers have said they intend to start producing vehicles with native NACS ports installed at the factory starting as soon as 2025.
All non-Tesla EVs will require adapters at first
Ford, GM, Nissan, and Rivian have all started rolling out Supercharger access to their customers. And now it’s Volvo and Polestar’s turn. Both Ford and Rivian gave out free adapters for a limited time before making customers buy them, while GM declined to offer any complimentary period.
Volvo is doing things slightly different. The Swedish automaker says the NACS adapter will be included free-of-charge to anyone who buys a 2025 EX90, EX40, or EC40. But existing Volvo EV owners will have to order an adapter from any Volvo dealership or service center for $230.
Polestar says it will be selling adapters through its Service Points, but made no mention of including them in the purchase of a new Polestar 2 or 3. Volvo said that orders will start shipping on November 18th, and Polestar just said “mid-November.”
Both companies are updating their Android-powered infotainment software so Tesla Supercharger stations show up in their vehicle’s navigation. The update will also include real-time availability of each station, as well as a seamless way to pay for each charging session.
The adapter rollout hasn’t been exactly problem-free. Ford had to tell some of its customers to stop using their adapters amid reports of reduced charging speeds over time. Supply constraints have also delayed some customers from receiving their adapters.
Tesla has said it is ramping up production of adapters out of its Buffalo, NY gigafactory. And some third-party suppliers of NACS adapters are also attempting to address lingering design flaws and other safety issues so they can also jump in the fray and help meet demand.
(Originally posted by Andrew J. Hawkins)