Mazda will adopt the North American Charging Standard (NACS) in its EVs in Japan. The company announced that it has reached an agreement with Tesla to that effect this week.

According to the Japanese manufacturer, NACS charging ports will be installed on the company’s battery electric vehicles (BEVs) launched in Japan from 2027 onward.

We can assume that the agreement will also impact plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), as it would make no sense to use different charging standards (SAE J1772 for AC and CHAdeMO for DC) for other rechargeable vehicles.

Mazda explained that this move will improve the charging experience and increase the number of available charging points with direct access to the Tesla Supercharging network across Japan. Charging from other chargers will still be possible through the use of adapters.

“Mazda adopted NACS to provide customers with greater convenience by a broader range of charging options. This will provide Mazda BEV customers with access to Tesla Superchargers across Japan. Mazda BEVs will be compatible with other charging standards besides NACS with the use of adapters.”

The Mazda6e. (Source: Mazda)

Japan and South Korea Go NACS

The NACS connector has been standardized in the United States as the SAE J3400. It covers AC and DC charging scenarios at a voltage of up to 1,000 volts. The NACS can replace all other charging connectors in light-duty vehicles.

The EV industry in North America (specifically in the US and Canada) is already highly advanced in switching from the Combined Charging System (CCS1) and SAE J1772 to the NACS (SAE J3400). Mazda is preparing to switch to the NACS in North America in 2025, but it currently does not have any EVs (only a few PHEVs) on the market.

As we pointed out earlier, it’s highly likely that Japan, South Korea, and a few other smaller markets will follow this transition. For South Korea, it makes no sense to stay alone with the CCS1. The same concerns the CHAdeMO connector in Japan.

Sony Honda Mobility announced in September 2024 that it will adopt the NACS in Japan for its all-new Afeela brand. Now with Mazda onboard, we should see more brands add the NACS to their vehicles. Meanwhile, in South Korea, the Water charging network already installs NACS charging connectors on its chargers.

Max de Zegher, Tesla’s Director of Charging North America (@MdeZegher / X), noted that the NACS is becoming the charging standard in Japan and South Korea:

“NACS becoming the standard in Japan (and South Korea) seems like only a matter of time now. It’s also great to see other fast-charging networks starting to install NACS in Japan. @TeslaCharging is accelerating the transition to NACS, for the industry to get clarity faster. Vehicle manufacturers also don’t want to build market-specific variants— like CHAdeMO just for Japan or CCS1 just for South Korea.”

It seems that as of May 2025, there will be three major charging standards globally:

• NACS (SAE J3400): North America, Japan, South Korea
• CCS2 (with Type 2 for 1- and 3-phase AC charging): Europe and most of the world
• GB/T (one for AC and one for DC): China and potentially some other markets

NACS becoming the standard in Japan (and South Korea) seems like only a matter of time now. It’s also great to see other fast-charging networks starting to install NACS in Japan. @TeslaCharging is accelerating the transition to NACS, for the industry to get clarity faster.… https://t.co/EULMZAwtov

— Max (@MdeZegher) May 9, 2025