- Volkswagen EV owners in North America will gain access to the Tesla Supercharger this summer.
- The German automaker said it’s on track to get access in June or July.
- An official charging adapter will be available, but we don’t know if it will be offered for free.
Volkswagen ID.4 and ID.Buzz owners in North America will gain access to the expansive Tesla Supercharger network of DC fast chargers this summer, marking a new entry on the list of automakers that have struck deals with Tesla.
“We get access to the network in June/July, when we have an official VW adapter,” Mark Gillies, director of public relations at VW Group of America, told PC Mag at this year’s CES. A previous version of the PC Mag story stated that Volkswagen EV owners in North America would get access to Tesla’s charging network in March, but the article was updated with a new timeline.
Ford, Rivian, General Motors, Volvo, Polestar and Nissan EV drivers can already use over 15,000 Tesla Supercharger stalls across North America to top-up their vehicles’ batteries. More automakers, including Volkswagen Group’s Audi, Porsche and Scout Motors, are set to gain access to Tesla’s DC charging stations later this year, but a timeline has not yet been disclosed. That said, all companies that have deals for Supercharger access will get it by the end of this year. Some companies, like Hyundai and Kia, will soon start shipping EVs with an NACS port from the factory, removing the need for an adapter.
In the case of Volkswagen, it’s currently working on sourcing and approving suppliers to manufacture the NACS to CCS charging adapter that’s needed for the vast majority of non-Tesla EVs that came from the factory with a different charging port than the one found on Tesla models. Gillies said for PC Mag that Volkswagen would “prefer” its driver use the official Volkswagen-supplied adapter but knows “there are adapters on the market” that some owners might opt for instead.
Officially, all non-Tesla automakers that have access to the Supercharger network say their EVs’ warranty will be voided if something goes wrong while charging at a Supercharger with an adapter that’s not manufacturer-approved. That said, all of these carmakers have outsourced their NACS to CCS adapter supply to other companies, including Tesla and Lectron. There are other names on the market, too, such as A2Z.
Volkswagen recently resumed production of the ID.4 crossover in the United States following a widespread recall for electronic door locks that could unlatch while driving.
Cheaper alternatives are also available. However, owners should keep in mind that while there is no active communication passing through the adapter during charging sessions, the temperature sensor inside some knockoff adapters is just dangling in the enclosure and is nowhere near the DC pins, as a teardown from Auto Buyers Guide revealed late last year.
If the charging adapter gets too hot, the sensors inside will end the charging session–but if the sensors are not next to the heat source, the adapter case could melt.
