- Kia EVs in the United States will gain access to the Tesla Supercharger network on January 15, 2025.
- Some EV6 and EV9 owners will get a free charging adapter, but others will have to pay for it.
- Kia will sell three adapter types.
Kia electric vehicles sold in the United States will gain access to the Tesla Supercharger network on January 15, 2025, the company said in a statement released today. The South Korean automaker will follow in the footsteps of Ford, Rivian and General Motors by striking a deal with Tesla to use its expansive DC fast-charging network that has over 16,500 stalls in the U.S.
Customers who took delivery of a new 2024 or 2025 Kia EV9 or 2024 Kia EV6 from September 6 will get a free adapter that will allow them to use the Supercharger network. Deliveries for the complimentary adapter are slated to start in early 2025.
However, people who bought an EV6, EV9 or Niro EV before the aforementioned date will have to pay for an adapter, although Kia didn’t say how much it would cost. For reference, the Tesla-made NACS to CCS1 adapter sold by General Motors costs $225, while third-party adapters are slightly less expensive.
Kia will offer three adapters: one that allows current Kia EVs to fast-charge on Tesla Superchargers, one that allows future Kia EVs equipped from the factory with the Tesla plug to charge at CCS1 stalls like those offered by Electrify America and EVgo, and one that allows NACS-equipped Kia EVs to AC-charge on non-Tesla Level 2 chargers. In other words, there will be NACS to CCS1, CCS1 to NACS and J1772 to NACS adapters available from Kia starting next year.
As a reminder, current Kia electric vehicles come from the factory with the Combined Charging System 1 (CCS1) plug, while Tesla’s Supercharger network uses the so-called North American Charging Standard (NACS), except for the few stalls that are equipped with a built-in adapter known as the Magic Dock.
If you’re wondering why Kia mentions NACS-equipped EVs, it’s because it will start making them pretty soon. As with the recently revealed 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 that comes with a NACS plug, the upcoming Kia EV6 will ditch the CCS1 connector in favor of the more compact plug designed by Tesla, at least in North America. Other models, like the EV9 will follow suit.
When Kia EVs gain access to the Tesla Supercharger network next year, customers will be able to pay for top-ups using the Kia Access app but only after a vehicle software update has been performed. There will be no need for the Tesla app.
