In mid-2023, just as it seemed like the North American auto industry had settled on CCS1 as the default fast-charging plug, everything upended as Ford, then General Motors, then everyone else announced they were adopting the North American Charging Standard.
Originally developed by Tesla, NACS has a different plug but uses the same electronic communication protocols as CCS, and adoption of NACS thus makes all those non-Tesla electric vehicles compatible with the extensive Tesla Supercharger network.
GM's existing EV drivers got access to those 17,000+ Superchargers last year—something that significantly upgraded the road-tripping experience with the Chevrolet Bolt, we discovered.
But the first GM EV with a native NACS port is still yet to reach the showroom. NACS will debut later this year in the 2026 Cadillac Optiq V, then we expect to see it next year fitted to the reborn Chevrolet Bolt, which has been dusted off and given a new lithium iron phosphate battery to go with the different charging port.