ChargePoint Is First Out of the Gate With New NACS EV Charger Options

The biggest EV news of 2023 is that, one by one, all of the major automakers have begun to abandon the older (kludgy) EV charger connection styles and adopt Tesla’s clearly superior NACS system. With Ford and GM now solidly behind the Tesla NACS standard, the industry will soon move en masse toward this better mousetrap. Respected EV charger manufacturers were ready for this move, and ChargePoint seems poised to be the first to have equipment ready to go out the door. Related Story: Don't Worry - Your Home Charger Will Not Be Obsolete When Everyone Switches to Tesla's NACS Chargepoint revealed in a Facebook post last week that it was readying its units, and this week formally announced that it is ready to begin delivering NACS chargers. NACS connector options are ready right now for new orders as well as currently installed CP6000, CPE 250, and Express Plus customers. ChargePoint says that the addition of its NACS-enabled solutions, along with its legacy J1772 or Combined Charging System (CCS) solutions, enables its products to work in the rapidly changing EV charging landscape. “ChargePoint’s 15-year history as a leader in the EV revolution has prepared us for evolving market dynamics, as well as enabled us to predict customer and driver needs,” said Bill Loewenthal, Chief Product Officer at ChargePoint. “Our highly modular charging platforms, combined with our new NACS connector options, allow customers to be confident that their investment in EV charging is successful for any connector scenario. We remain committed to developing networked charging solutions that ensure any EV can charge in any parking space.” ChargePoint’s DC Fast Charging units will also be NACS-compliant. The Express 250 and Express Plus, along with ChargePoint’s home-based AC line of products, the CPF50 and award-winning Home Flex, will be sold or can be reconfigured with NACS connector options in the coming months. Of course, ChargePoint’s commercial and light fleet product, the CP6000 will be sold or can be reconfigured with NACS connector options beginning in early 2024. Charger companies could see the possibility of a connector standards change coming. ChargePoint designed its units with cable modularity, enabling existing site hosts to replace, repair, or exchange charging cables and connectors, including NACS connectors, as needed. Respected EV charging companies like Lectron and Emporia are also working to quickly ready their charging solutions ahead of the coming NACS wave. The Tesla NACS connector is the best solution for the EV charging application. It is great to see that the leading EV charger manufacturers have been able to pivot instantly to meet the new standard. Image of ChargePoint NACS charger courtesy of ChargePoint media support. John Goreham is an experienced New England Motor Press Association member and expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. In addition to his eleven years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can follow John on Twitter, and TikTok @ToknCars, and view his credentials at Linkedin