Volkwagen’s charging network, Electrify America, has pledged to adopt the extremely popular North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector by 2025. This will massively improve access to the NACS connector, which was created by Tesla and originally called the Tesla charging connector.

For those tied to the company’s CCS-1 plug standard, don’t worry. Electrify America says it isn’t going anywhere, as the NACS connectors will join the CCS-1 connectors at charging stations, not replace them. Sibling organization Electrify Canada is also adopting the NACS connector by 2025. The company says this move is part of a larger mandate to “support industry-wide standards” and “streamline public charging” options.

The organization boasts 850 charging stations, totaling over 4,000 chargers, throughout the United States and Canada, so this is a big move. Additionally, Electrify America has officially joined consumer advocacy group the National Charging Experience Consortium (ChargeX) to help improve the charging infrastructure for EV owners.

Electrify America says it’ll share more information on the transition to NACS connectors in the coming months, along with more future plans to update its charging stations. There are rumors, for instance, that parent company Volkswagen may start integrating the NACS standard for its own vehicles, as reported by Reuters.

This has been a big couple of months for the Tesla-created charging standard. Polestar just announced implementation of the connectors, and Volvo made the same move. Ford, GM and Rivian have also committed to using Tesla's tech in North America. SAE International, one of the automotive industry’s most important standardization bodies, recently announced its support for the plug, officially making NACS connectors the biggest game in town.

You knew it was just a matter of time before Polestar echoed Volvo's adoption of Tesla's charging technology. The EV-oriented brand has confirmed that it will use Tesla's NACS connector in North America. You'll see "convenient" CCS-to-NACS adapters for existing cars in mid-2024, and cars released in 2025 onward will have the standard built-in. An adapter will help those future models charge at CCS stations.

The news complicates the expansion of Polestar's lineup. The Polestar 3 SUV and Polestar 4 SUV coupe are expected in 2024, while the Polestar 5 grand tourer and Polestar 6 roadster are coming later. In other words, some models will have as little as one year of CCS-native charging before moving to Tesla's port while others will ship with NACS from the outset. You may have to decide if it's worth dealing with an adapter just to get an EV as soon as it's available.

The reasoning behind the switch is the same as for Volvo: using NACS gives Polestar drivers access to Tesla's much larger (not to mention more reliable) Supercharger network in North America, with over 12,000 charge points available so far. This could "greatly increase" EV uptake in the area, Polestar chief Thomas Ingenlath argues. You could buy a Polestar 3 knowing you'd have enough charging stations to complete a long-distance trip.

Volvo and Polestar aren't alone. Ford, GM and Rivian have also committed to using Tesla's tech in North America, while Hyundai and Stellantis have said they're evaluating that move. For Polestar, however, the decision may be more symbolically significant than for other marques. It's considered one of the closest competitors to Tesla — the Polestar 2 is an obvious Model 3 alternative. This isn't an outright capitulation to Tesla, but it is an acknowledgment that access to the Supercharger network is a major advantage that sways customers.

It makes sense that a majority of EVs are crossovers. It's a market segment that does well. Sure, they're essentially raised hatchbacks, but they offer enough cargo space and seating for a couple or small family. On the other hand, if you have a large brood or need to transport a lot of supplies, gear, or groceries, the electrification of a three-row vehicle has been slow. Fortunately, the Kia EV9 is here with seating for up to seven and a cavernous cargo space.

We had a chance to take the Korean-spec EV9 for a first drive in Korea and while the suspension was a bit softer than what we're used to in the United States and there's a good chance that the acceleration will be tweaked to deliver more zip, it delivered the electric vehicle experience we expect from the automaker.

With a targeted range of up to 300 miles and DC fast charging that Kia says will take the 99.8kWh capacity battery from 10 percent to 80 percent in about 24 minutes, the automaker has something that should appeal to families looking for a road trip SUV. For more details on the EV9 and how it fared on the road, check out the video below.

It's not just US manufacturers adopting Tesla's EV charging technology. Volvo has confirmed that its electric cars in the US, Canada and Mexico will use Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS) port. Current and recently announced cars (such as the C40 Recharge, EX30 and EX90) will connect to Supercharger stations through an adapter starting in the first half of 2024, while models from 2025 onward will have NACS built-in. An adapter will be available to connect those upcoming EVs using the Combined Charging System (CCS) format.

Volvo isn't shy about its reasoning. It wants drivers to have access to an "easy and convenient" charging network, and that means Tesla Superchargers. The company claims the deal will give owners access to 12,000 more fast charging locations. The Volvo Cars app will help users find and pay for stations.

The move makes Volvo the first European marque to use Tesla's port. It joins American brands that have made the leap, including Ford, GM and Rivian. Those companies are also promising adapters for current designs followed by native NACS ports.

Tesla opened up NACS in late 2022, making the technology available to any company that wanted to use it. At the time, it hoped charging networks like Chargepoint and Electrify America would support the system. While that has yet to materialize, NACS is quickly gaining support beyond just automakers. Texas will require Tesla's connector on state-funded charging stations, and SAE International is working on a standardized version of the plug.

Other car giants are uncertain about using Tesla's tech. Stellantis (owner of Chrysler, Alfa Romeo, Fiat and other brands) toldReuters it's "evaluating" NACS, while Hyundai is also considering adoption. A switch isn't necessarily easy. Makers like Hyundai and Porsche have 800-volt architectures that allow faster charging than existing Superchargers, and they'd either have to press Tesla for upgraded technology or accept less-than-ideal charging rates. Still, there's clearly mounting pressure to embrace Tesla's format.

Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) is one step closer to becoming the de-facto electric vehicle charging system in the US. On Tuesday, SAE International, one of the automotive industry’s most important standards bodies, shared it is working to support the plug, a move that will make it easier for manufacturers to add NACS connectors to their vehicles and charging stations.

“Standardizing the NACS connector will provide certainty, expanded choice, reliability and convenience to manufacturers and suppliers and, most of all, increase access to charging for consumers,” the SAE said in a statement. According to the organization, the US Joint Office of Energy and Transportation helped bring together Tesla and the SAE. The association says it will create a standardized NACS connector on an “expedited timeframe,” all in hopes of improving the country’s charging infrastructure that much faster.

As The Verge points out, the announcement comes on the same day that ChargePoint said customers could begin ordering charging stations with NACS connectors. Starting later this year, the company will offer the port as an option on its home AC charging systems. More broadly, the last month has seen Ford, General Motors and Rivian all announce they plan to adopt NACS. In turn, that has pushed states like Texas to mandate government-funded EV charging stations feature Tesla’s connector. With the momentum behind NACS growing, holdouts like Electrify America may reconsider their stance on the connector.

Urtopia may be a relatively new name in the e-bike world, but it makes a strong first impression. With its 4G, GPS, mmWave sensors and even light projection turn indicators, the Carbon 1 felt like the Inspector Gadget of two-wheeled travel, but its exotic design and road-bike leanings meant it wasn’t for everyone. The company’s second bike, the Chord ($1,799), has a much less divisive aesthetic and – unlike its sibling – practicalities like gears and a more upright (and city-friendly) ride. Importantly, the Chord contains all the wireless connectivity of the Carbon 1 at a cheaper price, possibly making it a more compelling package overall.

The Chord feels like Urtopia’s attempt at a stylish city bike in the vague style of Cowboy or VanMoof. The Chord is apparently inspired by pianos, with its black and white colorway and the melodic notes that play when you cycle through the power modes. At 46 pounds (21 kilograms), it’s noticeably heavier than the Carbon 1 (33 pounds/15 kg), but it’s on par with other models in the same category.

The motor is a pretty straightforward 350W hub powered by a removable 360Wh battery. Top assisted speed is 20MPH over four modes: Eco, Comfort, Sport and Turbo. The maximum range is an estimated 75 miles, but that will obviously depend on how much assistance you use. As a Class 1 ebike, there’s no throttle mode here; instead, there’s a Turbo mode with barely any need to pedal to get you up to that maximum speed. As mentioned, the Chord comes with an 8-speed Shimano gear system which, combined with the assistance modes, make for a flexible ride in terms of speed and effort.

Photo by James Trew / Engadget

The more interesting features with Urtopia bikes come from its connectivity: WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS and 4G. Combined with an accelerometer and a gyroscope the Chord has a surprising amount of situational awareness, which I’ll get to later. Oh, you can also speak to the bike to change settings and use it as a Bluetooth speaker as you ride while receiving visual directions on the dot-matrix screen contained in the “smart box” bike computer. Did I mention there’s a comprehensive app with ride tracking, navigation and deeper settings, too?

Taking the Chord out for the first time, it was hard to ignore the extra weight compared to the aforementioned Carbon 1, but also the similarly pitched Tenways. It’s not chonky in the same way something like the 63-pound (28-kilogram) Velotric Discover 1 is but those extra pounds were noticeable the first time I tried hustling it (upright) into the elevator in my apartment block. Thankfully, it’s not something you’ll notice so much while pedaling.

The riding position is naturally more upright and it makes for a comfortable cruise around town. It’s not designed for off-road, but if you find yourself on uneven pavement or even a short stint on a dirt trail it does a decent job considering. The motor uses a torque sensor to decide when to kick in; it’s a very common system right now and does a good job of delivering power just as you need it.

Now, about that power. In the scheme of things, a 350W motor is a pretty standard entry-level option; it’s not about to pull your wrists out of their sockets when it kicks in, but it’s gets you to that 20MPH max speed in good time, as long as you’re willing to do the your part on the pedals. The three power modes are spaced adequately for whether you just want a little help or just wanna surprise that weekend warrior as you pass them barely pedaling. Turbo mode will reach max power without you really trying too hard – it’s a good option for if you’re feeling really pooped, and it doesn’t feel like the bike is pulling away from you, which can sometimes be the case with similar modes on higher-powered bikes.

Photo by James Trew / Engadget

Utopia’s heavy-tech approach made the Carbon 1 stand out, but it also felt a little unpolished, at least in the first iteration of the app. The built-in GPS and 4G are meant to automatically record your rides and serve them up in the app with a map and statistics. Initially this felt a bit hit-and-miss. The fingerprint reader in the Carbon 1 was a nice touch, too, and it even doubled as an electric bell, but unfortunately it would often sound about half a second after I needed it. With the newer Chord, the software feels more finished from the get-go.

For starters, the bell is still digital (you can even change the sound), but it’s triggered by a much clickier button that’s much more responsive. More importantly, the app feels more refined now and I haven’t seen any rides go missing during my time with it. In fact, they appear almost instantly once I finish.

Of course, automatically mapping rides is cool, but it’s not the primary purpose of the 4G/GPS. That would be the ability to track your bike if someone steals it. As long as the Chord’s within cell coverage, you’ll be able to see its last known location via the app. You can also set it so you receive notification the moment the bike moves – potentially giving you a heads up before a thief can ride off with it. Of course, if the battery runs out or the GPS can’t see the sky it won’t update the app, but the cell lasts for a good amount of time in standby and it only fully turns off if you remove the battery, which requires a key (or bike-breaking brute force).

A quick note on the battery: Its placement under the top tube is a cunning way to semi-hide it, but also provides a little more protection from the elements. On the flip side, there’s no way to fully turn the bike off, so the 4G connection will gently drain the power between rides unless you remove it. In my testing, I also found that the estimated max range of 75 miles feels a little optimistic. It might be possible under optimal conditions, but even on shorter rides of 11 miles, with mixed use of modes and terrain, I had used up a claimed 25 percent of the cell. So if very long rides are your thing, take note.

If, upon hearing about all this 4G data you’ll be using, your first question was how much that’ll cost, the answer is nothing for the first year and then $29 annually after that. While it feels like everything has a subscription attached to it these days, this feels reasonable for the functionality you get out of it – especially if your bike does go missing and this helps you find it.

Beyond knowing where the bike is, the Chord can also guide you to your destination via built-in navigation. To be clear, it’s handled by the app, but when your phone is connected to the bike, the directions will appear on the dot-matrix style display. This also means you can keep your handset safely in your pocket or bag – unlike some bikes that make your phone the bike’s computer, forcing it to remain exposed to the elements.

Photo by James Trew / Engadget

With the Carbon 1, I thought the option to play music through the built-in speaker was a novelty at best. The Chord hasn’t changed my mind either. Your music is going to sound pretty bad, but it’s a fun party trick nonetheless. Perhaps it’s more useful for podcasts and audiobooks? Just know that it’s something you can do (but not necessarily something you should). The voice control is a little more practical, but I rarely find a moment where I’d rather lean into the bike and talk to it instead of using the app’s controls.

Another interesting change from the Carbon 1 is that the smart box (formerly, smartbar) is no longer built into the bike. On the Chord it’s a separate unit that you attach manually, opening the door for some level of modularity. Urtopia hints at this in its press materials, suggesting that in the future you could upgrade to a different smart box with a better display, or new features which is an interesting concept if nothing else.

With just its second bike, Urtopia is showing a promising mix of consistency and growth (where needed). The Chord is a pretty enough bike that, if it’s to your taste, would serve as a good general purpose city e-bike. It’s not the most powerful, nor the most longevous in terms of range at this price point. But it’s possibly one of the most tech-laden and featureful if that’s what you’re looking for. Sometime's it feels like there's a little too much focus on the tech features and less on the ride itself. The fact that the door for feature upgrades further down the line, via the modular smart box, though, shows some welcome initiative on the company’s part. For the price, though, it's an easy recommendation if you love a quantified ride and rarely go off-road.

The United States government has reaffirmed its commitment to move EV production to its shores instead of relying on foreign entities. The US Department of Energy's Loan Program Office (LPO) has announced a conditional $9.2 billion loan for BlueOval SK (BOSK) — owned by Ford and South Korean battery producer SK On — to build three battery manufacturing plants, Bloomberg reports. 

The loan is the biggest the LPO has given out yet — almost four times the size of last year's $2.5 billion loan for Ultium Cell — a joint venture between General Motors and LG. The loan's scale is thanks, in part, to last year's passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which led to the LPO's lending budget increasing to $400 billion. For context, in the previous 14 years, the LPO has dispersed about $33 billion. The extra capital will certainly be necessary to achieve the Biden-Harris administration goal for EVs to make up half of US car sales by 2030. 

There will be two plants in Kentucky and one in Tennessee, with all three producing batteries for Ford and Lincoln's upcoming EV. The car manufacturer also announced plans for a Michigan-based LFP battery plant earlier this year. The production ramp-up comes as Ford aims to roll out two million EVs by 2026, with the All-Electric Explorer, Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit already available and an EV lineup in the works for Lincoln. In comparison, Ford produced about 132,000 EVs in 2022. Ford also recently secured its EV drivers access to 12,000 Tesla's charging points across North America.

The LPO stresses that the loan will also bring career opportunities to the areas, creating 5,000 construction jobs and another 7,500 operation jobs once the plants start running. The investment also aligns with President Biden's Justice40 Initiative that 40 percent of specific federal investments (including LPO loans) go to disadvantaged communities. 

Texas says it will require state-funded electric vehicle charging stations to have a connector for Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS). The news comes as automakers such as Ford, GM and Rivian shift to adopting the NACS and away from the Combined Charging System (CCS).

The Texas Department of Transportation told Reuters that the automakers’ move to NACS prompted the requirement for EV charging companies to install NACS connectors if they want to be included in a state program that involves federal funding. DC fast chargers in the state will still need to have a CCS connector to obtain federal dollars through the program.

The US Department of Transportation has earmarked up to $7.5 billion in funding for high-speed charging stations along highways. It said EV charging companies would need to include a CCS connector, and now Texas is adding another requirement. States are free to add extra provisons as long as they abide by the federal rules.

Tesla said last year it would open source the NACS in the hopes of getting other automakers to adopt it. Tesla has the largest slice of EV charging infrastructure in the US — it claims its more than 21,000 Supercharger points account for around 60 percent of the country’s fast-charging stations. 

In the last several weeks, GM and Ford announced they would offer owners of their vehicles (which currently use CCS) an NACS adapter before fully embracing that standard in future models. Rivian followed suit with a similar announcement this week. EV charging companies such as ChargePoint and EVgo have said they’re looking into adding NACS to their charging points.

As Reuters notes, Texas’ move may prompt other states to push EV charging companies to include an NACS connector. The report suggests that states including California, Michigan and Iowa are reviewing the state of the charging market, while at least one other is said to be considering an incentive for companies to include an NACS port.

Rivian is joining GM and Ford in gaining access to Tesla's Supercharger network. The automaker will offer R1T and R1S owners an adapter to connect their EVs to Supercharger stations as soon as spring of next year. Rivian will also adopt North American Charging Standard (NACS) charge ports as standard in R1 vehicles starting in 2025, as well as in the upcoming R2 platform.

The move means that Rivian owners will soon be able to top up their vehicle's battery at more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers across the US and Canada. Rivian plans to keep expanding its Adventure Network of DC fast chargers too.

"The adoption of the North American Charging Standard will enable our existing and future customers to leverage Tesla’s expansive Supercharger network while we continue to build out our Rivian Adventure Network," Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said in a statement. "We look forward to continuing to find new ways to accelerate EV adoption.”

Last year, Tesla said it would open source the NACS, which has taken strides toward becoming a true standard for EV charging in North America. Ford, GM and now Rivian are all embracing it as part of an apparent move away from the Combined Charging System (CCS). In November, Tesla pressed its case for the NACS, noting that the breadth of the Supercharger network meant that standard had far wider availability than CCS. The automakers' shift toward NACS could pressure the likes of Electrify America and Chargepoint to adopt it in their infrastructure too.

Volkswagen's next plug-in hybrid (PHEV) may be particularly appealing if you're determined to avoid using the gas engine whenever possible. The automaker has shared the first details of its next-gen Tiguan SUV, and the PHEV model will manage up to 62 miles of all-electric range. That's about twice the range of the existing Tiguan eHybrid, and makes the 37.5 miles of Toyota's Prius Prime seem modest. You might only need to rely on combustion power for long-distance trips.

The jump to a new MQB evo platform (and thus new electric motors) is partly credited for the extended PHEV range. It also allows for an electronically-controlled suspension that promises better handling and more comfort, and enables both faster AC charging on the plug-in model as well as DC charging. It's now more practical to charge the Tiguan overnight or at a rest stop, in other words.

Volkswagen

VW has also revamped the in-cabin technology. The infotainment system now uses up to a 15-inch screen, and there's a digital instrument cluster with rotary-based control. There's even a nod to ID-series EVs with a switch on the steering column to change drive modes. The new Tiguan will only be available with a dual-clutch automatic gearbox.

The updated Tiguan will officially debut in the fall, with models reaching dealerships in 2024. We wouldn't count on a North American release of the PHEV edition when it hasn't been available in the region so far. However, VW's effort hints at the direction of hybrids for the industry at large. The electric-only range is now good enough to cover a wide range of driving scenarios, and may be enticing if you're not quite ready to buy a pure EV.