Kia has confirmed that its first-party NACS (North American Charging Standard) adapters are ready for shipment to dealerships. However, owners will need to wait until later this quarter to use them on Tesla Superchargers. With the growing rollout of Supercharger access to non-Tesla brands, several carmakers, including VW and Honda, have announced that they will soon gain access to the network.
For now, most electric vehicles will need an adapter to charge on Tesla Superchargers, as most manufacturers are not adding native NACS ports to their vehicles yet. The 2025 Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 are among the exceptions, as both models feature native NACS ports.
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Kia told Electrek that shipments of the first-party adapters are already en route to dealerships, and certain owners will soon receive a notification through the Kia Connect app to claim their adapter. Owners of the 2024 or 2025 EV6 or EV9 models, who took delivery after September 4, will receive a free NACS adapter. Other owners will be able to purchase the adapters from Kia dealerships for $249, which is consistent with the typical cost of these adapters.
However, these adapters will be limited in use for the next few weeks. They will work for charging at Tesla destination chargers or any home charger with a Tesla/NACS plug. But Supercharger access will still be restricted as it requires a communication “handshake” between the vehicle and the charging network, which is currently disabled. Although Kia originally planned for access to begin on January 15, the rollout has been delayed to the end of this quarter. Kia is also providing “definitive instructions” with each adapter shipment to ensure proper usage, especially as some owners found a workaround to charge on the network before the official availability.
The 2025 Kia EV6, which comes with a native NACS port, is still waiting to hit dealerships, unlike the Hyundai Ioniq 5, which has already shipped and can charge faster than Tesla vehicles at Superchargers. The EV6 should be available around the same time as Supercharger access, expected later this quarter.