Count one less holdout in the switch to the NACS charging-connector standard for North America. Subaru is the last automaker to confirm it will adopt Tesla’s NACS standard, following in the tread-marks of Ford, GM, BMW, the Hyundai Group (Hyundai, Kia, Genesis), Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mercedes and others.
The move means that Subaru vehicle owners will eventually gain access to over 12,000 of Tesla’s supercharging stations across North America.
The Japanese automaker does say the switch will happen gradually. In the short term, an adapter will be offered to buyers of a Subaru EV that will allow then access to those Tesla charging stations. Then, starting in 2025, Subaru will begin fitting “certain BEVs” launched from then on with the NACS plug.
It’s not surprising to see Subaru make this announcement just days after Toyota did the same; Subaru’s sole BEV on the market right now is the Solterra crossover, built on Toyota’s e-TNGA platform and a close cousin of the bZ4X.
The list of carmakers not yet on board with the adoption of the NACS standard is getting short, Stellantis and the Volkswagen group (Volkswagen, Audi, Bentley, Porsche, Lamborghini) being the most prominent. Mazda has also yet to show its hand. By this point, however, it’s hard to imagine any of those manufacturers remaining outside the tent. In 2025, it might become difficult explaining to potential buyers that every brand but theirs has access to a large North American network of fast chargers.