A fully electric Ford Mustang Mach-E is charged at a Tesla Supercharger station.
ford
DETROIT – Ford engine Tesla is rolling out Supercharger features to owners of its electric vehicles in the US and Canada. The launch begins on Thursday, but limited supply is expected initially.
The Detroit automaker was the first to announce a deal with Tesla to use the electric vehicle manufacturer’s supercharger network. The vast majority of automakers in the U.S. have since followed suit. Under the agreements, companies such as Ford will adopt Tesla’s charging port for future electric car models.
Meanwhile, an adapter is needed to connect non-Tesla vehicles that use different charging technology to Tesla’s network. Ford says the partnership will more than double its owners’ access to fast chargers – but it may take some time to distribute the adapters to all customers.
“As we move forward, we face a supply constraint and believe demand will outstrip supply in the early stages of launch,” Ken Williams, head of charging and energy services at Ford, said during a media briefing. “We will attempt to meet this demand on a first-come, first-served basis.”
Williams declined to disclose how many adapters the company currently has to offer to its electric vehicle customers, who have purchased about 140,000 Ford electric vehicles in the U.S. since 2023. Delivery of the adapters to customers is expected to begin in late March, Ford said.
Tesla, which developed the adapter and sells it to automakers, did not respond to a request for comment for details.
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Depending on the vehicle, fast chargers are capable of extending range by hundreds of miles in an hour or less. In comparison, less powerful chargers can take hours or even longer to charge.
Last year, automakers agreed to adopt Tesla’s charging technology to gain access to its already extensive charging network, instead of or in addition to building their own chargers (or waiting for others like the federal government to do so).
According to a spokesman for the Detroit automaker, Ford does not receive any revenue or pay Tesla for access to the Tesla Supercharger network.
Ford customers
Current retail customers of the Ford F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E can reserve a free charging adapter through the Ford owner app or at Ford.com/FastChargingAdapter through June 30, the company said. After this period, the adapters cost $230 each.
The website requires customers to log in or register with Ford’s BlueOval Charge Network via the FordPass app to reserve an adapter. Customers who are not yet registered in the BlueOval Charge Network will be asked to register before ordering their fast charging adapter.
Adapters are shipped based on reservations and some customers may experience an undisclosed waiting time depending on when they register.
Ordering a Tesla adapter for F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E
- Sign up for Ford Pass on Ford’s dedicated website.
- Click on the “Reserve adapter for free” button to start the ordering process.
- Your shipping information will be pre-populated based on your Ford Pass account. Simply check that all information is correct, update if necessary and click reserve.
- You will receive a confirmation screen with helpful information about an upcoming automatic over-the-air software update and a link to Ford’s FAQ Hub.
- You will also receive a confirmation email with a link to check the status of your reservation.
Ford owners can use the Tesla charger via the FordPass app or the Charge Assist app on the vehicle’s touchscreen, eliminating the need to use an on-site credit card. You can also use the Tesla app.
The adapter is needed to connect the so-called Combined Charging System (CCS) charging port, which was the US industry standard, to Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) system.
As part of the Ford-Tesla agreement, owners will gain access to more than 15,000 Tesla Superchargers in the United States and Canada starting Thursday, according to Ford.
Tesla says it has more than 50,000 Supercharger ports worldwide. The company does not disclose how many there are in the United States. The U.S. Department of Energy reports that only about 6,900 CCS fast chargers are publicly available in the country.
With the addition of Tesla Superchargers, BlueOval Charge Network customers will have access to more than 126,000 chargers, including over 28,000 fast chargers, according to Ford.
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2024-02-29 19:13:25
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