Nissan Motor Company Limited, a world-renowned multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in the Nishi-ku area of Japan, has officially declared that it will use Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS) charging connector in North America. Tesla Motors has recently opened up the possibility of other automobile manufacturers to use its supercharging network and has even signed a deal with Ford.

Jérémie Papin, Chairperson of Nissan Americas, revealed that the Japanese car brand is going to switch from the conventional Combined Charging System (CCS1) to Tesla's advanced NACS charging connector in the Northern American region including Canada and the United States of America.

The automaker will make the switch from CCS1 to Tesla's advanced NACS charging connector starting with Ariya battery-powered electric car. From 2025, all electric models of the company will be using the NACS charging connector. Before the brand’s new electric cars become natively compatible with tesla’s charging connector, the automaker will offer a NACS charging adapter for current Ariya vehicles that currently come equipped with CCS1 charging inlets.

Papin explained that making NACS charging adapters available for Ariya models would enable consumers to connect their EVs’ charging port to NACS plugs at all compatible chargers.

Announcing the shift, Papin said, “Adopting the NACS standard underlines Nissan's commitment to making electric mobility even more accessible as we follow our Ambition 2030 long-term vision of greater electrification. We are happy to provide access to thousands more fast chargers for Nissan EV drivers, adding confidence and convenience when planning long-distance journeys.”

The Japanese automobile manufacturer’s move will be of great help to Ariya owners who might be looking for a faster charging solution. The move will open access to Tesla’s Supercharging network. It is also worth-mentioning here that Nissan is not the first automaker to do so. Several other manufacturers that have signed agreements with Tesla, including General Motors, Ford, Rivian, Polestar, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo are also providing their customers with access to the Tesla Supercharging network. However, Nissan is the first automaker from Japan that entered such an agreement with Tesla.

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, which is currently offering only the plug-in hybrid Outlander PHEV, is also expected to enter a similar deal with Tesla sometime in the future.

Nothing was revealed about the Nissan Leaf – a battery-electric powered compact car introduced in Japanese and the US markets in December 2010. In the US and Canada, the Nissan Leaf is compatible with the CHAdeMO charging standard (DC charging). Many experts are of the view that this EV will eventually retire without getting NACS upgrade.