EV Charging Showdown: NACS vs. CCS vs. CHAdeMO Explained

Electric vehicle owners in the U.S. often encounter three different fast-charging connectors: NACS, CCS, and CHAdeMO. If you’ve ever pulled up to a charger and realized the plug didn’t fit your car, you know the struggle. In this in-depth review, we’ll break down what each standard is, their pros and cons, and what the future might hold. By the end, you’ll know exactly which plug is which, and which EV charging standard is poised to win out in America. Let’s plug in!

Understanding EV Charging Standards

Why do we even have different charging standards? The short answer: EVs evolved in different places and companies. Just like how early smartphones had various charging cables, electric cars ended up with different plug types. Standards emerged based on regional preferences and manufacturer choices. In the U.S., there are three main DC fast charging standards:

• Tesla’s NACS (North American Charging Standard) – a slim connector originally proprietary to Tesla, now gaining wider adoption.
• CCS (Combined Charging System) – the industry-backed “combo” plug used by most non-Tesla EVs in North America.
• CHAdeMO – an older Japanese-developed standard, mostly seen on early EVs like the Nissan Leaf.

For home or Level 2 AC charging, most non-Tesla cars use the J1772 connector (which is actually included in the CCS design). Tesla’s vehicles use their NACS plug for both AC and DC charging, so Tesla owners don’t need a separate J1772 port. CHAdeMO-equipped cars (like the Leaf) actually have two ports – a J1772 for AC charging and a CHAdeMO for DC fast charge. This dual-port setup is one reason CHAdeMO feels a bit dated now.

So what’s the big deal? Charging standards affect where you can charge, how fast, and with what adapter. Let’s dive into each one and see their benefits and drawbacks.

Figure: Common EV charging connectors worldwide. In North America, most drivers encounter J1772 for AC charging (left), Tesla’s NACS connector (center), or the CHAdeMO/CCS DC fast charge connectors. NACS combines AC/DC in one slim design, whereas CHAdeMO (and early CCS) required a separate AC portsetecpower.comsetecpower.com.

What Is NACS?

NACS stands for North American Charging Standard. Don’t let the generic name fool you – this is Tesla’s plug, rebranded. Tesla introduced this compact connector back in 2012 on the Model S. For years it was a proprietary Tesla design. In late 2022, Tesla opened up the design and invited the industry to adopt ittesla.com. They even gave it that official-sounding NACS name to encourage others to jump on board.

So, what’s special about NACS? For one, it’s small and simple. It has no moving latch on the plug (the locking is done via a pin in the car’s inlet). It’s lightweight and easy to handle – many folks praise how much thinner the Tesla/NACS cable is compared to the chunky CCS cords. Despite its slim form, NACS is powerful: it supports AC charging and DC fast charging up to 1 MW (1000 kW) in the same connectortesla.com. In practice, Tesla’s Superchargers currently go up to 250 kW on many stations, but the connector design can handle even more as EV technology improves. Tesla boasts that their connector is half the size and twice as powerful as CCStesla.com.

NACS’s biggest advantage is the Supercharger network behind it. Tesla built out a massive fast-charging network across the U.S. over the past decade. As of 2023, Tesla has about 1,800 Supercharger locations in the U.S., with roughly 20,000 charging stalls – which actually outnumbers the total fast-charging stalls of CCS and CHAdeMO combinedinsideevs.cominsideevs.com. If you drive a Tesla, you pretty much have access to the most extensive, reliable fast-charge network available. No wonder other automakers looked at this and said, “We want in!”

Adoption by other automakers: In 2023, a wave of major car companies announced plans to adopt NACS. Ford kicked things off in May 2023, agreeing to put NACS ports in its EVs and giving current Ford EV owners an adapter to use Tesla stationsstable.autostable.auto. GM, Rivian, Volvo, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, and more followed suit within weeksstable.auto. By summer 2024, many of those brands’ EVs will be able to charge at Superchargers via adapters, and by 2025 new models from these companies will come with NACS ports built-instable.auto. In fact, Tesla stated that all large automakers have now embraced NACS, aiming to transition by 2025tesla.com. This is a seismic shift in the U.S. EV industry – essentially, Tesla’s once-exclusive plug is becoming the default American standard.

Pros of NACS:

• Sleek, user-friendly connector: Smaller and lighter than others, but capable of very high powertesla.com.
• Combined AC/DC: One port handles both home charging and fast charging.
• Huge network access: Tapping into Tesla’s ~20k Supercharger stalls means NACS users have lots of places to chargeinsideevs.cominsideevs.com. The network is known for reliability (Tesla reports ~99.95% uptime!).
• Growing industry support: With Ford, GM, and others on board, NACS is no longer just for Teslas – it’s the future default for new EVs in North America.

Cons of NACS:

• Transitional pains: Until other cars have NACS ports, non-Tesla drivers need adapters to use Superchargers. Adapters will be provided by automakers like Ford/GM, but it’s an extra gadget to worry about for nowstable.auto.
• Limited availability (for the moment): Outside of Tesla’s own network, there haven’t been many NACS plugs at third-party stations yet (though companies like EVgo have started adding Tesla connectors to some stations). This will change as charging companies integrate NACS due to market demand.
• North America-centric: NACS is not used in Europe or Asia (Europe uses CCS Type 2, etc.). So this standard is great within the U.S./Canada, but if you somehow shipped your car abroad, you’d need different solutions. (For U.S. drivers this isn’t a big deal, but it’s worth noting NACS is a regional standard.)

Overall, NACS has a lot going for it, especially with Tesla’s weight behind it. It went from proprietary to (almost) mainstream in about a year. But we can’t talk about NACS without looking at its big competitor which has been the status quo for other EVs: CCS.

What Is CCS?

CCS stands for Combined Charging System. The name hints at its key feature: it combines the ability to charge from a regular AC outlet and from a high-power DC fast charger using one connector design. CCS was developed by a coalition of automakers and was adopted as a standard by SAE and others. In North America, we use the CCS Type 1 (CCS1) variant, which is basically the standard J1772 AC plug with two extra large DC pins added below it. (In Europe, they use CCS Type 2, which is similar idea but based on the European Type 2 AC plug – different shape, but conceptually the same “combo” approach.)

CCS first appeared around 2013 – in fact, the first public CCS fast charger in the US opened in San Diego in October 2013, installed by EVgoinsideevs.com. Automakers like GM and BMW started putting CCS1 ports on their EVs by the mid-2010s (the Chevy Spark EV in 2014 was first, then others followed)insideevs.com. Over the last decade, CCS1 became the default fast-charge port on virtually every non-Tesla EV in America: Chevy Bolt, Ford Mustang Mach-E, VW ID.4, Hyundai/Kia EVs, Lucid Air – you name it. If it’s not a Tesla, it almost certainly has a CCS port (with the one big exception of the Nissan Leaf, which we’ll get to). This wide adoption is why until recently CCS was considered “the standard” for everyone except Tesla.

Charging speed: The CCS design can handle some serious power. Many CCS fast chargers today are rated at 150 kW or 350 kW, and the tech can go up to about 500 kW theoreticallysetecpower.com. In practice, the highest-power CCS stations (350 kW) can add hundreds of miles in 20-30 minutes if your car supports it. A couple of cutting-edge EVs like the Lucid Air (with a 900-volt battery system) can hit over 300 kW charging on CCSinsideevs.com. Porsche’s Taycan was the first to use an 800-volt system with CCS, allowing ~270 kW charging speeds. So CCS isn’t lacking for speed – it’s plenty fast when the infrastructure and vehicles support it. Tesla recently indicated its upcoming V4 Superchargers (which use NACS) will “match or exceed” CCS’s top 350 kW rateinsideevs.com, so essentially both standards are aiming for similar high-power levels.

Availability and networks: Here’s where CCS both shines and struggles. CCS stations are more numerous in locations than Tesla stations, but each site often has fewer stalls. As of mid-2023, the U.S. had about 5,240 CCS charging locations (sites) across the countryinsideevs.com – nearly three times the number of Tesla Supercharger sites. This is thanks to networks like Electrify America, EVgo, ChargePoint, and others that have been installing CCS fast chargers at a rapid clip. However, many CCS locations might have just 2 to 6 chargers each, whereas a Tesla Supercharger location might have 8, 12, or more stalls. So Tesla still leads in total outlets, even if CCS covers more distinct stopsinsideevs.cominsideevs.com. It’s a bit of a quantity vs. concentration issue.

CCS is also the required standard in many government-funded charging projects. For instance, federal infrastructure funding has pushed for CCS (and now NACS) so that stations serve multiple vehicle brands. Electrify America (EA), which calls itself “the nation’s largest public fast charging network”electrifyamerica.com, has built hundreds of CCS stations (often along highways, every 50 miles or so). EVgo has over 1,100 fast chargers as well, again mostly CCS. CHAdeMO ports were usually included at these stations too (typically one per site for Leaf drivers), but CCS was the main focus as EV adoption grew.

Pros of CCS:

• Widely adopted standard: Until the recent NACS announcements, CCS1 was the standard for basically every new EV in the U.S. outside Tesla. This means a robust ecosystem of cars and chargers already exists.
• High power capability: Supports ultra-fast charging (350 kW and beyond) on the latest stationsinsideevs.com. It’s ready for next-gen batteries and higher voltage systems.
• Network diversity: Multiple companies operate CCS networks (EA, EVgo, Blink, etc.), so you have options. Many public charging sites are mapped on apps like PlugShare, giving CCS users a lot of flexibility in route planning.
• Standardized protocol: CCS uses industry-standard communication (like ISO 15118 for Plug & Charge), which enables features such as Plug-and-Charge (automatic authentication/payment when you plug in, similar to Tesla’s seamless experience). Ford, Mercedes, and others have implemented Plug&Charge on CCS, making the experience easier on new stations.

Cons of CCS:

• Bulkier connector: The CCS1 plug is notorious for being large and a bit unwieldy. It’s basically a J1772 with an extra “chin” for DC pins – workable, but not as sleek as NACS. The cables for high-power CCS can be thick and stiff (often liquid-cooled), which sometimes makes them cumbersome to handle.
• Reliability issues: This isn’t the connector’s fault per se, but many CCS station networks have had uptime problems and maintenance issues. It’s a common complaint on forums: arrive at a CCS fast charger and one or more stalls might be out of order. Tesla’s Superchargers, by contrast, are very reliable (less downtime) since Tesla had tighter control over hardware and maintenancetesla.com. The good news is networks are improving, but it’s still a mixed bag – and a sore point for CCS users.
• Fragmented user experience: Different apps, cards, or accounts may be needed for different CCS networks. A Tesla driver just plugs in and the car starts charging (and billing) automatically. With CCS, you might juggle Electrify America’s app, then an EVgo RFID card, etc., unless you use a universal app. This is gradually improving with things like Plug&Charge and roaming agreements, but it hasn’t historically been as seamless as the Tesla ecosystem.
• Facing a transitional challenge: With NACS emerging, new EVs from 2025 onward might stop using CCS1 ports in favor of NACS. This puts CCS in a weird spot where it’s the current standard, but future support could dwindle. We don’t expect CCS to disappear overnight (there are thousands of CCS-equipped cars on the road and more being sold through 2024), but the momentum has shifted. Many charging providers have even announced plans to add NACS connectors to their chargers alongside CCSen.wikipedia.orgen.wikipedia.org. In other words, CCS and NACS will coexist for a while, but the writing is on the wall long-term in North America.

Despite these cons, CCS isn’t dead (and some industry groups aren’t too happy about the Tesla plug takeover). CharIn, the association behind CCS, pointed out in 2023 that NACS wasn’t an open standard yet and needed proper standardization through SAEinsideevs.com. Well, that process is happening – SAE formalized NACS in late 2023 as an official standard (SAE J3400). So essentially, CCS proponents are now grudgingly accepting that NACS will be part of the landscape. For now, if you own a CCS-equipped EV, you have the majority of multi-brand fast chargers available to you, and you’ll likely get an adapter to use Tesla stations as well.

Before we talk about the future, let’s not forget the third player here: CHAdeMO – the veteran that’s slowly bowing out.

What Is CHAdeMO?

CHAdeMO is the oldest of these three standards, and it has an interesting backstory. The name “CHAdeMO” is actually a Japanese phrase “O cha demo ikaga desuka” meaning “How about a cup of tea?” – implying you could charge your car in the time it takes to have a cup of teasetecpower.com. Developed around 2010 by a consortium including Nissan and TEPCO (a Japanese utility), CHAdeMO was the first widely available DC fast charging standard. The Nissan Leaf, launched in late 2010, famously used a CHAdeMO fast-charge port (in addition to its J1772 AC port). For the early EV era, CHAdeMO was a big deal: it allowed ~50 kW DC charging, getting an EV to ~80% in about 30-40 minutes – not bad for the time.

In the U.S., CHAdeMO had some uptake in the 2010s mainly due to the Nissan Leaf’s popularity and a few other cars (like the Mitsubishi i-MiEV and Kia Soul EV) that used it. Public charging networks installed CHAdeMO stations alongside CCS in many locations. As of recent counts, nearly 5,000 CHAdeMO charging stations exist across the countrynissanusa.com. That sounds like a lot, but keep in mind: in most cases these are shared sites where the same station unit has both a CHAdeMO and a CCS plug. Essentially, wherever CCS went, CHAdeMO was often installed too – until recently.

Charging speed: CHAdeMO started at about 50 kW. Later updates (CHAdeMO 1.5, etc.) allowed up to ~100 kW on some stations (and vehicles like the 2018+ Leaf ePlus can charge around 100 kW). In Japan, a CHAdeMO 2.0 spec was developed supporting up to 400 kW, and even a 3.0 version (also called ChaoJi) is in the works targeting 500+ kWsetecpower.comsetecpower.com. However, these high-power versions never really rolled out in the U.S. No American CHAdeMO car could use that, and no network here installed 400 kW CHAdeMO chargers to our knowledge. So practically speaking, CHAdeMO in the U.S. is limited to fairly moderate speeds (50 kW typical, maybe ~62.5 kW or 100 kW in some rare cases). This is a major disadvantage today when CCS and NACS stations offer 150-350 kW power. It feels a bit like comparing an old 3G data connection to 5G – it works, but it’s slower than what’s now standard.

Current status: Simply put, CHAdeMO is being phased out in North America. Nissan was the last automaker sticking to it here, and even Nissan has moved on – the new Nissan Ariya EV comes with a CCS port, not CHAdeMOmynissanleaf.com. That leaves the Nissan Leaf as one of the only new vehicles (and its production is rumored to end in the next couple years) still using CHAdeMO in the U.S. Tesla used to sell a CHAdeMO adapter for Tesla owners who wanted to use CHAdeMO stations, but since CCS has become prevalent, Tesla pivoted to offering a CCS adapter instead. Electrify America announced in 2021 that it would stop installing CHAdeMO plugs in new stations after Cycle 2 of their build-outmynissanleaf.commynissanleaf.com. Their reasoning: over 90% of new EVs would be using CCS by 2025, and CHAdeMO usage on their network had fallen to just 9% of sessions by early 2021 (down from 15% in 2019)mynissanleaf.commynissanleaf.com. In short, very few cars were plugging into CHAdeMO, so it didn’t make business sense to keep expanding it.

Pros of CHAdeMO:

• Proven technology: It was the early standard that worked, giving us the first taste of quick charging. Many older EVs still on the road (Leafs especially) rely on it.
• Simplicity and safety: A bit subjective, but CHAdeMO has a robust design with a locking latch. Some users find it quite durable. It also supported bidirectional charging (V2G) early on – CHAdeMO was designed with vehicle-to-grid capability, meaning a CHAdeMO car could potentially feed energy back to a home or grid. Nissan actually promoted the idea of using Leaf batteries for home backup. CCS only more recently is exploring V2G, whereas CHAdeMO had it baked in from the startsetecpower.comsetecpower.com.
• Still available (for now): If you do drive a CHAdeMO-equipped EV, you’re not completely stranded – there are thousands of CHAdeMO plugs out there in the U.S.nissanusa.com. Networks like EVgo have historically been very supportive of Leaf drivers, often maintaining at least one CHAdeMO plug per station. And as of this writing, you can find CHAdeMO at many highway service areas and cities (though you may have to use an app like PlugShare to locate the ones that are operational and not ICE’d or broken).

Cons of CHAdeMO:

• Slow by today’s standards: 50 kW – 62 kW charging feels glacial when others do 150+ kW. On a long road trip, a modern EV on CCS might charge in 20 minutes, whereas a Leaf on CHAdeMO might need an hour for the same energy. Simply put, it’s falling behind the needs of newer EVs (which is partly why Nissan had to move on for its longer-range cars).
• Bulky connector: The CHAdeMO plug is fairly large and requires a thick cable. It’s a completely separate plug from the AC port, meaning EVs needed two receptacles (more complexity, more space taken). In contrast, CCS and NACS use one combined port. The CHAdeMO cable is also heavy – not the end of the world, but not as nice as the slim NACS plug.
• Dwindling support: This is the big one. Fewer new stations are including CHAdeMO. Some existing CHAdeMO chargers are being decommissioned or not maintained once they break. New EV buyers are avoiding CHAdeMO vehicles because they see the writing on the wall (used Leafs are cheap partly for this reason – their charging tech is being orphaned). Within a few years, CHAdeMO might only be found in legacy locations or niche setups. It’s basically the Betamax of charging standards in North America at this point.

To sum it up, CHAdeMO had a great run and was crucial in the early 2010s, but as we head toward 2025 it’s largely a legacy system here. If you’re one of the loyal Leaf drivers, you can still get around, but you’ll be watching as the world moves to CCS and now NACS. Speaking of which, let’s directly compare these standards and look at where things are headed.

NACS vs CCS vs CHAdeMO: Key Differences

How do these three standards stack up side by side? The table below summarizes some key differences in design, power, availability, and usage in the U.S.:

As you can see, each standard had its moment. CHAdeMO was a pioneer but is now the odd one out. CCS became the widespread norm for the 2015–2023 EV generation. NACS is poised to take over as the new dominant standard in North America going forward. Now, let’s talk specifically about NACS vs CCS – since those are the two fighting for the crown – and what the future might look like.

NACS vs. CCS: Which One Is the Future?

In the battle of charging standards, the landscape has shifted rapidly. Just a couple of years ago, it was Tesla’s closed system vs. everyone-else’s CCS. Now, it’s looking like Tesla’s tech is becoming everyone’s tech. So, is CCS doomed and NACS the inevitable future? Let’s break it down in a human way:

Momentum towards NACS: The announcements by Ford, GM, and others in 2023 were watershed moments. They effectively crowned NACS as the connector of choice from 2025 onward for new modelsstable.auto. The allure was clear: access to Tesla’s Supercharger network (and Tesla’s connector itself is elegant). For consumers, it means fewer adapters and a hope that one day every fast charger has the same plug. Major charging equipment manufacturers like ABB, Tritium, and ChargePoint also said they will start offering NACS connectors on their hardware. Even the federal government got behind it – the U.S. Joint Office of Energy and Transportation announced in late 2023 that federally funded chargers could indeed use NACS (once it’s standardized by SAE) without running afoul of compliance. By 2024, SAE officially standardized NACS (designation SAE J3400), adding more legitimacytesla.com. It’s fair to say NACS has won the mindshare of the North American EV industry.

Tesla’s strategy of opening the Superchargers accelerated this shift. In early 2023, Tesla agreed under pressure (and incentives) from the Biden administration to make part of its Supercharger network open to non-Tesla EVsstable.auto. They started installing the Magic Dock, an integrated CCS adapter at select Superchargers, to allow CCS cars to charge using the Tesla app. While this was a nice stop-gap, the Magic Dock rollout has been limited so far. The bigger move was Tesla saying “here’s our connector design, use it everyone!” and Ford/GM biting. With those two giants (and later a dozen others) onboard, NACS’s fate was sealed.

What happens to CCS now? It’s not disappearing overnight, that’s for sure. There are millions of CCS-equipped cars worldwide and tens of thousands of CCS chargers. In the U.S., expect a transition period where new charging stations come with both NACS and CCS plugs, so that all drivers are served. In fact, a consortium of automakers (BMW, GM, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes, Stellantis, and Honda) announced plans in 2023 to build 30,000 new fast chargers in North America, and they made it clear these stations will have connectors for both NACS and CCS to ensure compatibility for all EV customersstable.autostable.auto. That’s a big deal – it means even companies that hadn’t (at the time) fully committed to NACS, like Hyundai or BMW, recognize they need to accommodate it. “Universal compatibility” is the goal, at least during this transitionstable.auto.

For existing EV owners with CCS ports: adapters will be the bridge. Tesla has promised adapters so that a CCS car can plug into a NACS (Tesla) station. Ford and GM will supply their customers with NACS-to-CCS adapters in 2024 so they can use Superchargersstable.auto. Conversely, Tesla drivers can buy an adapter to use CCS stations (Tesla’s $250 CCS1 adapter has been available, and newer Teslas can use it natively, while older Teslas need a retrofit to support CCS signalsen.wikipedia.org). So, if you’re worried about having the “wrong” plug, know that accessibility is being solved with adapters in the short term.

Long term outlook: It appears that NACS will become the standard for North America, taking the place CCS1 held. By 2025–2030, new EVs will all have NACS ports, and new chargers likely will string NACS cables by default (possibly with CCS as secondary until the vehicle fleet turns over). This is similar to how things went in the past with say VHS vs. Betamax, or Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD – one standard usually prevails due to market forces. Here Tesla’s early network advantage and the industry’s desire to piggyback on it tipped the scales to NACS. CCS isn’t going extinct globally – in Europe and many other regions, CCS Type 2 will remain the norm since Tesla itself uses CCS in Europe. But in the U.S. and Canada, the Tesla plug juggernaut is rolling.

That said, CCS will linger in North America throughout the 2020s in the existing car and charger population. We’ll likely see dual-standard chargers for quite a while. Think of it like gas stations offering both gasoline and diesel: for a long time, stations will offer CCS for legacy vehicles and NACS for the newer ones. By the 2030s, if all goes well, we might simplify to one standard (NACS) as older CCS cars retire or all carry adapters.

One more note: CHAdeMO’s future here is pretty much tied to the remaining Leafs and a few fleets. We expect CHAdeMO to continue dwindling. Some CHAdeMO stations will be decommissioned or replaced with dual CCS/NACS units. Nissan Leafs will either rely on the shrinking CHAdeMO network or, in some cases, upgrade – there is talk of third-party CHAdeMO-to-CCS adapter solutions, but nothing widely available as of 2025 (and no official adapter to convert a CHAdeMO car to NACS or CCS yetenphase.com). So if you have a CHAdeMO-only car, keep that in mind for long-term planning.

Bottom line: The future in the U.S. looks to be NACS as the common charging language, with CCS as a bilingual older sibling for a while. This is great news for simplification – someday you won’t have to worry if the road trip station has the right plug, because almost all fast chargers will have the one you need. It’s also good for EV adoption overall; less confusion = happier consumers. Even the CCS alliance (CharIn) has come around, working on interoperability so that the Tesla plug can be included in standards and everyone plays nice. Competition aside, all parties want EV drivers to have a seamless experience fueling up their cars with electrons.

Now, let’s answer some frequently asked questions that many EV owners have about these charging standards.

FAQ

Q: Can I charge a non-Tesla EV at a Tesla Supercharger?
A: Yes – in many cases you can, but it depends on timing and location. Tesla has started opening select Superchargers to other brands. These stations either have a Magic Dock (built-in CCS adapter) or you’ll use an adapter provided by your car’s manufacturer. For example, Ford and GM will give adapters to their EV owners in 2024 to use Tesla NACS stationsstable.auto. By 2025, many new EVs will have native NACS ports, so they’ll plug in directly. Check Tesla’s app or website to see which Superchargers are open to non-Teslas – as of now, it’s a limited but growing number of sites. If you drive a CCS-equipped car today, you might need to wait for an adapter or find a Magic Dock-enabled Tesla station. But the goal is that eventually all Superchargers will allow other EVs. Keep an eye on announcements from your automaker.

Q: Can Tesla owners use CCS stations like Electrify America or EVgo?
A: Absolutely. Newer Teslas (2019/2020 and later) can use a Tesla CCS1 adapter (sold by Tesla) to charge at CCS fast stations. If your Tesla is older, you might need a service retrofit to upgrade the charging communication to work with CCS – Tesla offered an upgrade for vehicles built before mid-2020 so they can use the CCS adapteren.wikipedia.org. With the adapter, a Tesla can charge at most CCS stations (just be aware you’ll need the station’s app or payment method; it’s not as plug-and-play as a Supercharger). Many Tesla drivers carry this adapter to give more charging options on road trips, especially in areas where Superchargers are sparse. For Level 2 AC charging, Tesla also provides a small J1772 adapter with every car, so you can use any public Level 2 charger as well. Bottom line: Tesla owners aren’t limited to Tesla stations – they have adapters to use the wider network when needed.

Q: Which is faster, a Tesla Supercharger (NACS) or a CCS fast charger?
A: They’re more or less comparable in potential speed – the limiting factor is usually your car’s capability and the specific station’s power level. Tesla’s newest V3 Superchargers (NACS) can deliver up to 250 kW per car (and V4 Superchargers are expected to go 350 kW+). The fastest CCS stations (like EA’s “Hyper-Fast” units) can deliver up to 350 kW. In practice, very few cars can take the full 350 kW; many max out around 150–250 kW. So a top-tier CCS charge and a Tesla Supercharge will both add roughly 200 miles in 15-20 minutes under optimal conditions. Tesla’s network has the advantage of tightly integrated software that can precondition the battery for fast charging, etc., which helps achieve peak speeds consistently. CCS speeds can vary more due to charger brands and how your vehicle manages heat. But on paper, CCS and NACS both support very high power – far higher than CHAdeMO. Speaking of which, CHAdeMO is noticeably slower (typically 50 kW), so on a long trip a CHAdeMO car will take significantly longer to charge than the latest NACS/CCS-enabled cars. As EV tech advances, both NACS and CCS will push into faster charging (Tesla even mentioned 1 MW charging for future usestesla.com, and an upcoming standard called MCS for trucks goes even beyond that, but that’s another story).

Q: What is the availability of these chargers in the U.S.?
A: CCS chargers are presently the most widely distributed by count of locations. You’ll find CCS fast chargers along most highways, in many cities, at dealerships, malls, etc. Companies like Electrify America (with hundreds of stations nationwide) and EVgo (urban-focused stations) have built extensive networks with CCS – often including one CHAdeMO at each site too. Tesla Superchargers (NACS) have slightly fewer locations but often more stalls per location, and they’re strategically placed on highways and near amenities. As a Tesla driver, you’ll rarely have trouble finding a Supercharger on a road trip; as a CCS driver, you’ll find stations too, but you might have to plan a bit more due to sometimes fewer chargers per site or occasional maintenance issues. CHAdeMO chargers exist but are shrinking in relative terms. Nissan’s website noted about 5,000 CHAdeMO charge points in the countrynissanusa.com, but importantly, many of those are co-located with CCS. Standalone CHAdeMO stations (especially high-power ones) are not common. If you have a CHAdeMO vehicle, you’ll likely use apps to locate the nearest CHAdeMO plug, and you may find that in some regions there are only a handful available. The good news is that for daily use, CHAdeMO drivers often rely on Level 2 charging (since Leafs have smaller batteries), and use CHAdeMO only for occasional quick top-ups. Meanwhile, NACS availability outside Tesla’s network is just beginning – a few EVgo stations have Tesla connectors, and more third-party chargers will add NACS in late 2024 and 2025 as demand grows. Expect that by 2025, the “availability” question will be moot: the major networks will offer both NACS and CCS plugs at new stations, so all EV drivers can charge at all stations (that’s the hope, at least!).

Q: Is CHAdeMO going away completely?
A: It’s heading that direction in North America, unfortunately. No major automaker here (aside from the existing Nissan Leaf) is using CHAdeMO anymore, so there’s no incentive to expand CHAdeMO infrastructure. Electrify America has stopped installing new CHAdeMO unitsmynissanleaf.com, and some older CHAdeMO chargers have been removed or will be as they become obsolete. That said, “going away” is relative – existing CHAdeMO stations will likely remain for a number of years, especially since companies don’t want to abandon current Leaf owners overnight. You can expect CHAdeMO to still be around through the mid-2020s at least, but probably with decreasing numbers of functional units. If you own a CHAdeMO car, it’s wise to have a strategy: use PlugShare or other community-updated resources to find working CHAdeMO sites, and have backup plans. Eventually, as CHAdeMO hardware ages out, those stations might be replaced with dual CCS/NACS chargers. In Japan (CHAdeMO’s home turf) the standard will stick around longer, but in the U.S. it’s in sunset mode. There is some aftermarket talk of CHAdeMO-to-CCS adapters or even retrofitting cars with CCS, but those are experimental at best right now. So, plan on CHAdeMO being scarce in the future – and factor that into your EV ownership or purchase decisions.

Q: Will I need multiple adapters or cables in the future?
A: The goal is no, you won’t – we’re moving toward simplification. If all new cars adopt NACS and all new stations provide NACS (and likely CCS as well for a while), the need for carrying a bunch of adapters will diminish. For the next few years, some drivers might keep an adapter handy:

• If you have a CCS car (like a 2023 Bolt or F-150 Lightning), you’ll want a NACS adapter to use Tesla stations. Those are coming soon via manufacturers.
• If you have a Tesla, you might keep the CCS1 adapter for non-Tesla stations.
• If you have a CHAdeMO car, well, you already likely carry the CHAdeMO cable (usually attached to the station, not the car) and maybe a backup plan like a portable EVSE.

The good news is the industry trend is toward one unified standard (NACS), meaning in a few years you shouldn’t need any adapter for fast charging – your car will plug right in wherever you go. Adapters will be a temporary solution during this transition. For Level 2 AC charging, there’s already pretty good interoperability: a Tesla can use J1772 stations with a tiny adapter, and CCS cars can use Tesla Wall Connectors via an adapter if needed (Tesla even launched a “universal” home wall charger that has a J1772 plug with a NACS adapter bundled). So, the companies are actively trying to make charging as convenient and universal as pumping gas. We’re not fully there yet, but it’s getting closer each year.

Hopefully this explainer has demystified the alphabet soup of EV charging standards. Whether you’re charging a Tesla Model Y, a Ford Mustang Mach-E, or a trusty Nissan Leaf, the landscape of plugs is becoming clearer. In the U.S., it looks like a NACS vs. CCS showdown – with Tesla’s connector pulling ahead – while CHAdeMO rides into the sunset. The upside for all EV drivers is a future with less hassle and more compatibility. Happy charging!

Sources: Tesla (Charging Network and NACS info)tesla.comtesla.com; InsideEVs (industry news and stats)insideevs.cominsideevs.com; Stable Auto analysisstable.auto; Electrify America & ChargePoint (charging network details)electrifyamerica.comchargepoint.com; Nissan USA (CHAdeMO stats)nissanusa.com; Setec Power (technical differences)setecpower.comsetecpower.com; MyNissanLeaf forum (EA CHAdeMO phase-out data)mynissanleaf.com.