Yet another automotive group is joining the charging shift in North America, with the BMW Group to adopt the NACS in 2025 for its all-electric vehicles in the United States and Canada.

Over the past decade or so, electric BMWs and MINIs in North America have been equipped with the Combined Charging System (CCS1) charging inlet (at least the models with DC fast-charging capability), but that will change in the not-too-distant future.

The company intends to start equipping its electric cars with a NACS charging inlet in 2025, and this includes not only the BMW brand, but also the MINI and Rolls-Royce brands.

Additionally, through an agreement with Tesla, the BMW Group’s electric vehicles will gain access to designated Tesla Supercharging stations in the US and Canada in early 2025.

According to the German manufacturer, it will work in the coming months “to create a seamless customer experience enabling BMW, MINI, and Rolls-Royce drivers to find and access available Superchargers on their vehicle’s display, and make payments through their respective vehicle’s brand app”. In other words, every aspect of Supercharging is to be integrated within the BMW/MINI/Rolls-Royce’s domain.

A close-up of Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) plug.

An interesting thing is that the BMW Group’s press release is silent about the release of the NACS charging adapters, which would enable the older, CCS1-compatible electric cars to use NACS-compatible chargers (specifically Superchargers). Other manufacturers usually said that such adapters will be introduced at some point in 2024. It might still be the case with BMW Group, but for now, there is no confirmation in the first official announcement.

Sebastian Mackensen, the President & CEO of BMW of North America, said:

“With six fully electric BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce models now available in the U.S. market, and more to come, it is our top priority to ensure that our drivers have easy access to reliable, fast charging. This agreement is the latest in our longstanding and continued effort to expand charging options for our customers as we continue on the road to electrification.”

With the BMW Group on board, the list of companies confirming the switch from the CCS1 charging connector to the NACS in North America has increased again. The other OEMs are: Ford, General Motors, Rivian, Volvo, Polestar, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Fisker, Honda, Jaguar, Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis.

The BMW Group underlined that the switch to the NACS and access to the Tesla Supercharging network are independent of the recently announced commitment with six other automakers to create a joint venture charging network in North America with at least 30,000 high-power chargers.