On September 30, 2024, SAE International released its J3400 NACS Recommended Practice Document—which means that the standard is ready.

Works on the standardization of the Tesla-developed North American Charging System (NACS) connector started in June 2023, and were promised to progress “on an expedited timeframe”. The impulse to create a task force was spurred by Tesla’s move to open its proprietary charging system in December 2022, followed by announcements by Ford, General Motors, and others that they would switch from the CCS1 (SAE J1772 Combo) to the NACS.

SAE International first released its SAE J3400 NACS Electric Vehicle Coupler Technical Information Report in December 2023, with a plan to publish a full standard in the fall of 2024.

The new SAE J3400 document is available for $300 and “covers the general physical, electrical, functional, safety, and performance requirements for conductive power transfer to an electric vehicle using a coupler, which can be hand-mated and is capable of transferring either DC or AC single-phase power using two current-carrying contacts.”

With the SAE J3400, any EV or charging equipment manufacturer can develop and produce NACS-compatible charging solutions independently of Tesla. The NACS can be used for AC and DC charging, and it will directly replace both the SAE J1772 AC connector and the CCS1 (SAE J1772 Combo) DC connector in mainstream light-duty EVs. Heavy-duty vehicles will get a much more powerful Megawatt Charging System (MCS).

It’s a major milestone, not only for North America but potentially for several other markets that use J1772 and CCS1 charging, like Japan and South Korea. There is a very big chance that the NACS will also be adopted in these markets.

Interestingly, the Charging Interface Initiative (CharIN), the organization behind the CCS1 and CCS2 connectors, congratulated SAE’s J3400 Committee on achieving the milestone. CharIN initially defended the CCS1 standard, but the group supported the transition after the battle was lost.

Tesla’s proprietary plug and the Combined Charging System (CCS) plug is compared side by side.

Here is the list of carmakers that have officially announced the switch to NACS: Ford, General Motors, Rivian, Volvo, Polestar, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Fisker (bankrupt), Honda (with Acura), Jaguar, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, BMW Group (BMW, MINI, and Rolls-Royce), Toyota (with Lexus), Subaru, Lucid, Volkswagen Group, Mazda, and Stellantis. The first company that signed up for the NACS was Aptera, but the startup has not yet launched its first EV on the market. Most recently, the group was joined by Sony Honda Mobility (SHM)’s Afeela for both North America and Japan.

The first new non-Tesla EVs natively compatible with NACS are expected on the market very soon. Meanwhile, several brands have already received access to the Tesla Supercharging network using NACS-to-CCS1 adapters.