EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH FORD ABOUT ITS TRANSITION TO NACS

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This interview with Ford's Public Charging Manager, Jeff Beno, provides crucial details on the company's groundbreaking decision to adopt Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS) starting in 2025. Ford initiated this shift to enhance customer charging access and experience, citing NACS's smaller, lighter, and more elegant design, along with its capability for faster charging. Key takeaways include that adapters for existing CCS vehicles to access Superchargers will be available in early 2024 for purchase, and Ford is exploring solutions for the short cable issue at existing Supercharger stations. Importantly, Ford did not pay Tesla for the NACS integration, as it's an open-source standard. The company is committed to bi-directional power flow with NACS and is working to resolve Plug & Charge billing issues. Ford is not joining the new charging network consortium formed by other automakers, instead focusing on expanding its own BlueOval Charge Network and leveraging the Tesla Supercharger network. While the transition to NACS is confirmed, specific vehicle port configurations are still being finalized.