Hyundai Motor Group might soon become another manufacturer that will officially confirm the switch from the CCS1 to the NACS charging connector in North America.
This week, several all-electric cars offered by the group – including the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Hyundai Ioniq 6, Genesis GV60, and the upcoming Kia EV9 – were seen at a Tesla Supercharging station in San Clemente, California.
According to a report on Reddit, the cars were gathered at the station to take some photos for the upcoming press release, which will be related to the switch to the Tesla-developed NACS connector and access to the Supercharging network.
Otherwise, it would be hard to explain the presence of the South Korean cars at the site (at relatively rarely used V2 stalls), which they can’t use due to the current incompatibility of the connector and lack of an official agreement.
We guess, that just like in the case of other manufacturers – Ford, General Motors, Rivian, Volvo Cars, Polestar, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Fisker, Honda (with Acura), and Jaguar – Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis might start equipping its electric vehicles in North America with NACS as soon as in 2025.
A little bit earlier, at some point in 2024, customers potentially will be able to buy NACS to CCS1 adapters and get access to the Tesla Supercharging network that way. If true, it would make perfect sense to prepare some photos for marketing purposes.
The most interesting element of the whole NACS/CCS1 switch is the support for high-voltage battery systems. The latest E-GMP-based Hyundai Motor Group EVs have battery voltage of up to about 600-800 volts (it depends on the exact battery).
Because the current generation of Tesla Superchargers in North America is able to supply only up to about 500 volts, fast charging of the E-GMP-based vehicles might be compromised, compared to the top CCS1 chargers on the market (ready for 800-1,000 volts). In other words, the Hyundai Motor Group’s customers would gain more charging locations, but not necessarily the top charging speed. This topic was actually highlighted by Hyundai Motor CEO and president Jaehoon Chang back in June.
The NACS charging connector in its second configuration is promised to offer up to 1,000 volts (and up to about one megawatt of charging power). We assume that this version is just around the corner and soon Tesla (and third-party suppliers, once the NACS becomes an SAE standard), will start deploying 1,000-volt chargers (new power electronics, probably combined with V4 stalls). It would be great to see confirmation from the Hyundai Motor Group that full charging speed will be available at some point in the future.
