Get ready, EV owners: Here come the dongles

Nearly a year ago, GM began selling an adapter to allow existing electric vehicles use the North American Charging Standard plugs at Tesla Supercharger stalls. EV owners rejoiced in their newfound freedom. Now, GM is announcing three more adapters. The additional adapters, which help GM customers access EV chargers with different charging rates and standards, is a win for flexibility, but at the cost of simplicity. It’s entirely possible that two-EV households could own four different adapters. Several years ago, the majority of EV models in the U.S. used the Combined Charging System (CCS) standard. That is, with the exception of Tesla. In 2022, the automaker opened up the design for its charging connector and charge port — which it now calls the North American Charging Standard (NACS) — in an effort to encourage network operators and automakers to adopt the technology and help make it the new standard in North America. And they did. Today, nearly all automakers are offering adapters to access Tesla Supercharger stations. They’re are even integrating the NACS design into their own vehicles. “GM has already committed to essentially transitioning our whole EV portfolio over to NACS,” Tim Ash, director of hardware products for GM Energy, told TechCrunch. “We believe that moving to that unified standard simplifies the experience for our customers.” But this shift has created an awkward transition — and an abundance of adapters. In addition to the existing NACS-to-CCS adapter for fast charging, GM will sell a NACS-to-J1772 adapter for Level 2 charging. (J1772 is the part of the CCS plug that handles slower charging speeds.) For future GM EVs that are built with NACS ports, the automaker will make a J1772-to-NACS adapter for Level 2 charging and a CCS-to-NACS dongle for fast charging. 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San Francisco | REGISTER NOW The new adapters “make sure EV drivers — regardless of what charging type they have on their vehicle — can access essentially any charging wherever they need it,” Ash said. This problem isn’t GM’s alone. Hyundai, for example, sells NACS-equipped 2025 Ioniq 5 EVs with two adapters, one each for Level 2 and fast charging at CCS-equipped chargers. But it is a sign the transition between EV charging standards will make public charging more confusing before it gets better. Now, for a majority of charging sessions today, the adapters are unlikely to sow confusion. Most EV charging happens at home or work, locations where the chargers are going to be predictable. But when charging at large, it could get complicated quickly. Drivers should plan on stashing the adapters in their vehicle so they’re not left stranded or inconvenienced. For people with an incompatible charger at home, they may want to buy duplicates for convenience. Too bad most adapters cost more than $200. Automakers aren’t entirely to blame for the number of adapters. CCS and NACS are similar enough that simple dongles suffice for each charging speed, but they differ in important ways that simplification unlikely. With NACS, electricity passes through two large pins regardless of charging speed. But with CCS, it passes through one set of pins for Level 2 speeds and another for fast charging. Merging Level 2 and fast charging capability into a single charger would likely require power electronics that would raise the price considerably. Controversies over new plug standards aren’t anything new. Apple has sold iPhones with three different connector types, and the product hasn’t yet celebrated its 20th birthday. But the cadence in consumer electronics is much faster than in automotive, and the costs are a lot lower. The typical smartphone owner pays $500 to $1,000 and buys a new device every two to three years. Dongles cost about $30. That 30-pin dock cable from your 12-year-old iPhone 4? It’s long forgotten. The average car or light truck isn’t so easily traded. Prices have soared to near $50,000 for a new vehicle, part of the reason why the average car or truck on the road in the U.S. is over 12 years old. Automakers have started the transition, but they don’t appear to be rushing to finish it. So far, GM has announced two EVs that will use the NACS charging standard: the 2026 Cadillac Optiq and the 2027 Chevrolet Bolt. The automaker hasn’t put a timeline on when it will migrate its remaining 12 EV models to the new standard. In other words, get comfortable with the dongles. The transition, Ash admitted, “will take some time.”