Kia is setting January 15th as the date its electric vehicles will get access to “more than 16,500” Tesla Superchargers. Kia will provide free NACS adapters to people who got their EV9 or EV6 after September 4th, 2024, but all existing owners will have to pay an as-yet-unspecified amount.
The free adapters will start shipping to customers in early 2025, while current owners can purchase the adapter at an authorized Kia dealer “at a later date.” GM similarly announced last week that its EV customers would have to pay $225 for the NACS adapter to add Tesla Supercharger access.
In anticipation of future Kia EV models with native Tesla connectors, the automaker will also soon sell adapters to go the opposite direction so vehicles can still use CCS-based DC fast chargers and level 2 AC chargers. And in early 2025, Kia will release a software update so customers can pay and charge through the in-car infotainment system.
Kia and its sister company Hyundai were among the last few automakers to announce they would adopt Tesla’s NACS, or North American Charging Standard, connector over the CCS Combo plug. So far, Ford, Rivian, and GM are the only automakers that have already enabled Tesla Supercharger access.