You are Welcome, Tesla Homeowners. Kia Simply Moved Its Charging Port

• Kia unveiled the facelifted 2025 mannequin of its EV6 crossover on Thursday. 
• The large replace: The EV6 now comes outfitted with a Tesla-style NACS charging port from the manufacturing facility. 
• Plus, Kia moved the charging port to the left facet of the automobile, which ought to assist drivers extra simply entry Tesla Superchargers beginning subsequent yr. 

Kia will transfer the charging port on the 2025 EV6 crossover to the left facet of the automobile from the fitting facet, the model introduced on Thursday. Should you ask the Tesla house owners who will quickly share their beloved Supercharger stations with Kia drivers and lots of others, that is the fitting facet to have it on. 

That replace comes as a part of a wider refresh to the EV6 that broke cowl on Thursday. The 2025 mannequin will get a brand new mug, extra vary and, maybe most significantly, a Tesla-style charging port constructed proper in. Due to an built-in North American Charging Commonplace (NACS) port, the EV6 will quickly be capable to cost up at hundreds of Tesla Superchargers with out utilizing a dongle of any variety. That entry opens up in January. 

However merely working with Tesla to grant Supercharger entry (they was once reserved for Tesla house owners solely, however that is step by step altering) would not assure the charging course of at these areas will straightforward or hiccup-free. Since Tesla started letting outsiders use its stations, it is turn into clear that the placement of a automotive’s charging port could make or break the charging expertise—each for the automotive’s proprietor and the station’s different patrons. 

Supercharger stalls are designed with brief cords and for Teslas solely, and all Teslas have their charging port on the the again left of the automobile. So when a non-Tesla reveals up with its port within the “mistaken” place, the proprietor cannot merely again into the suitable spot like a Mannequin Y or Mannequin 3 may. They could must straddle two parking areas or park horizontally throughout them simply to get the twine to achieve.

Understandably, that is been pissing off Tesla house owners left and proper. It is awkward for the individual inflicting the nuisance too. 

Picture by: InsideEVs

Enter Kia. The model not solely gave the 2025 EV6 a NACS port—it additionally relocated the port the left rear fender to imitate Tesla’s setup. (The high-performance EV6 GT will not get the identical replace, nevertheless.) Kia did not explicitly point out the parking drawback in its press launch, solely saying that the brand new port and placement serve to “make charging extra handy.” 

However everyone is aware of this is a matter, together with Tesla. On its web site, it recommends that non-Tesla house owners “keep away from parking diagonally to achieve the cable and attempt to hinder as few cost posts as doable,” and reveals how they need to achieve this in a useful illustration. 

“Moreover, we encourage all automobile producers to standardize cost port areas to the rear driver facet or entrance passenger facet,” Tesla provides. 

This will likely solely be a brief bug of the good NACS transition, although. Fuel stations haven’t any drawback coping with vehicles which have their gasoline caps on both facet of the automobile. We’re beginning to see EV charging stations with that sort of pull-through design coming on-line too. And Tesla says its new V4 charging cupboards will higher accommodate different EVs.

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