Get Ready, Ev Owners: Here Come The Dongles

Nearly a twelvemonth ago, GM began trading an adapter to let existing electrical vehicles usage nan North American Charging Standard plugs astatine Tesla Supercharger stalls. EV owners rejoiced successful their newfound freedom. 

Now, GM is announcing 3 much adapters. The further adapters, which thief GM customers entree EV chargers pinch different charging rates and standards, is simply a triumph for flexibility, but astatine nan costs of simplicity. It’s wholly imaginable that two-EV households could ain 4 different adapters.

Several years ago, nan mostly of EV models successful nan U.S. utilized the Combined Charging System (CCS) standard. That is, pinch nan objection of Tesla. In 2022, nan automaker opened up nan design for its charging connector and complaint larboard — which it now calls nan North American Charging Standard (NACS) — successful an effort to promote web operators and automakers to adopt nan exertion and thief make it nan caller modular successful North America.

And they did. Today, astir each automakers are offering adapters to entree Tesla Supercharger stations. They’re are moreover integrating nan NACS creation into their ain vehicles.

“GM has already committed to fundamentally transitioning our full EV portfolio complete to NACS,” Tim Ash, head of hardware products for GM Energy, told TechCrunch. “We judge that moving to that unified modular simplifies nan acquisition for our customers.”

But this displacement has created an awkward modulation — and an abundance of adapters.

In summation to nan existing NACS-to-CCS adapter for accelerated charging, GM will waste a NACS-to-J1772 adapter for Level 2 charging. (J1772 is nan portion of nan CCS plug that handles slower charging speeds.) For early GM EVs that are built pinch NACS ports, nan automaker will make a J1772-to-NACS adapter for Level 2 charging and a CCS-to-NACS dongle for accelerated charging.

The caller adapters “make judge EV drivers — sloppy of what charging type they person connected their conveyance — tin entree fundamentally immoderate charging wherever they request it,” Ash said.

This problem isn’t GM’s alone. Hyundai, for example, sells NACS-equipped 2025 Ioniq 5 EVs pinch 2 adapters, 1 each for Level 2 and accelerated charging astatine CCS-equipped chargers. But it is simply a motion nan modulation betwixt EV charging standards will make nationalist charging much confusing earlier it gets better.

Now, for a mostly of charging sessions today, nan adapters are improbable to sow confusion. Most EV charging happens astatine location aliases work, locations wherever nan chargers are going to beryllium predictable.

But erstwhile charging astatine large, it could get analyzable quickly. Drivers should scheme connected stashing nan adapters successful their conveyance truthful they’re not near stranded aliases inconvenienced. For group pinch an incompatible charger astatine home, they whitethorn want to bargain duplicates for convenience. Too bad astir adapters costs much than $200.

Automakers aren’t wholly to blasted for nan number of adapters.

CCS and NACS are akin capable that elemental dongles suffice for each charging speed, but they disagree successful important ways that simplification unlikely. With NACS, energy passes done 2 ample pins sloppy of charging speed. But pinch CCS, it passes done 1 group of pins for Level 2 speeds and different for accelerated charging. Merging Level 2 and accelerated charging capacity into a azygous charger would apt require powerfulness electronics that would raise nan value considerably.

Controversies complete caller plug standards aren’t thing new. Apple has sold iPhones pinch 3 different connector types, and nan merchandise hasn’t yet celebrated its 20th birthday. 

But nan cadence successful user electronics is overmuch faster than successful automotive, and nan costs are a batch lower. The emblematic smartphone proprietor pays $500 to $1,000 and buys a caller instrumentality every 2 to 3 years. Dongles costs astir $30. That 30-pin dock cablegram from your 12-year-old iPhone 4? It’s agelong forgotten.

The mean car aliases ray motortruck isn’t truthful easy traded. Prices person soared to adjacent $50,000 for a caller vehicle, portion of nan logic why nan mean car aliases motortruck connected nan roadworthy successful nan U.S. is over 12 years old.

Automakers person started nan transition, but they don’t look to beryllium rushing to decorativeness it. So far, GM has announced 2 EVs that will usage nan NACS charging standard: nan 2026 Cadillac Optiq and nan 2027 Chevrolet Bolt. The automaker hasn’t put a timeline connected erstwhile it will migrate its remaining 12 EV models to nan caller standard.

In different words, get comfortable pinch nan dongles. The transition, Ash admitted, “will return immoderate time.”