The North American Charging Standard has another new convert. On Thursday, Jaguar announced that it’s the latest automaker to decide to change its charger plugs on its battery electric vehicles to the Tesla-style NACS port, securing all-important access to the Tesla Supercharger network in the process. As with all the other NACS announcements we’ve seen since May, when Ford went first and opened the floodgates, native NACS ports will appear on Jaguars in 2025.
Coincidentally, that’s when the next new electric Jaguar will appear, too. The British brand was an early entrant to the long-range electric vehicle segment with the I-Pace, a bespoke BEV that wowed road testers in 2018. But despite a big order from Waymo to use I-Paces as robotaxis, the I-Pace’s relatively small interior and high purchase price put off potential private customers, making it a relatively rare sight on North American roads outside of the Bay Area.
The I-Pace got a mild midlife refresh at the beginning of this year, but it remains the sole EV in Jaguar’s lineup for now. We were supposed to see an electric replacement for the venerable Jaguar XJ sedan, and development of the car was at an advanced stage when it was suddenly canceled in 2021, mere months from its debut.Advertisement
At the time, Jaguar announced a new electrification plan that would delay new EVs until 2025, with the goal of only selling EVs by 2030.
And now we know that when the first of those new Jaguar EVs arrives in a couple of years, North American market cars will feature the more elegant NACS charger plug, and Jaguar says its in-house battery and power electronics have been designed to optimize charging rates on Tesla’s v3 and v4 charger hardware.
“JLR is dedicated to helping our clients make the switch to electric vehicles and to our commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2039,” said Mark Camilleri, Jaguar’s director of electrification services. “Today’s announcement is an important step as we deliver an outstanding charging experience for our electric Jaguar clients. Whilst most charging takes place at home, when away from home, our clients want access to fast, reliable, and convenient chargers.”
“Tesla has created a charging network across the globe that delivers this, and we are delighted to be working with them to provide access for Jaguar clients. This agreement will enable Jaguar drivers with NACS-equipped vehicles in the USA, Canada, and Mexico to use Superchargers without an adapter,” he said.
At least, that will be the case for customers of those as-yet-unseen new Jaguar EVs. For existing I-Pace owners, Jaguar says it will source adapters from Tesla and supply them once they’re available. This announcement doesn’t give a timeline, but other automakers have said they expect such adapters to appear by mid-2024. No I-Pace will get a native NACS port, though; Jaguar will kill the model off around the same time it introduces its next-generation EVs.
