Ford Motor Company recently announced that it reached an agreement with Tesla Motors to provide Ford electric vehicle (EV) customers access to more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers across the United States and Canada. This move will double the number of fast chargers available to Ford EV customers starting in spring 2024.
“This is great news for our customers who will have unprecedented access to the largest network of fast chargers in the United States and Canada with 12,000-plus Tesla Superchargers plus over 10,000 fast chargers already in the BlueOval Charge Network,” said Jim Farley, Ford president and CEO. “Widespread access to fast-charging is absolutely vital to our growth as an EV brand, and this breakthrough agreement comes as we are ramping up production of our popular Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning and preparing to launch a series of next-generation EVs starting in 2025.”
On Tesla’s part, Rebecca Tinucci, senior director of charging infrastructure, shared, “We’ve spent the last 10 years building an industry-leading charging network that enables freedom to travel and provides charging confidence for our Tesla owners. We’re excited to deliver on our mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy by welcoming Ford owners and other EVs who adopt NACS to our thousands of Superchargers across North America.”
A Tesla-developed adapter will provide Ford F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E, and E-Transit vehicles fitted with the Combined Charging System (CCS) port access to Tesla’s V3 Superchargers. Ford will equip future EVs with the NACS charge port, removing the need for an adapter for direct access to Tesla Superchargers, starting in 2025.
“Tesla has led the industry in creating a large, reliable, and efficient charging system, and we are pleased to be able to join forces in a way that benefits customers and overall EV adoption,” said Marin Gjaja, chief customer officer of Ford Model E. “The Tesla Supercharger network has excellent reliability, and the NACS plug is smaller and lighter. Overall, this provides a superior experience for customers.”
The BlueOval Charge Network is already North America’s largest public charging network, with over 84,000 chargers, including access to over 10,000 public DC fast chargers. Adding more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers creates the single largest integrated fast-charge network across the States and Canada, designed to significantly reduce charge anxiety for Ford customers, with automatic routing to the nearest charger and seamless billing via FordPass.
Additionally, Ford dealers are adding roughly 1,800 public-facing fast chargers and locations to the BlueOval Charge Network by early 2024.
National Charging Experience Consortium
Meanwhile, Ford also joined the US Joint Office of Energy and Transportation to launch the National Charging Experience Consortium, a new effort to rapidly develop solutions to improve EV charging across the country.
Ford will join a cross-industry group of automakers, charging providers, utilities, and the Department of Energy national laboratories to drive innovation and universal enhancements around current and future public charging infrastructure and customer experience. The consortium will immediately focus on payment processing, user interfaces, and vehicle-to-charger communication and work toward collaborative diagnostic data sharing to further support solutions for all stakeholders.
“Creating a seamless and simple public charging experience requires collaboration across the entire EV ecosystem and remains key to accelerating EV adoption and providing customers with range confidence,” said Bill Crider, head of global charging and energy services at Ford Motor Company. “Bringing together a cross-section of industry, academia, and the government will address current challenges and drive swift improvements to the entire charging experience, helping Ford customers and all EV drivers realize all the benefits of driving electric.” (Story and photos courtesy of Ford Motor Company)