BNR – Ford Motor Co shares rose over 7 per cent on Friday after the company announced a deal that will allow owners of its electric vehicles to use rival Tesla Inc’s charging facilities in North America.
According to Ford CEO Jim Farley, Tesla’s Superchargers could become the standard for electric vehicle (EV) charging in the United States. He added that with adapters and software, we don’t have to decide what standard to use right now. He, on the other hand, believes it will play out in the free marketplace.
Ford Shares Soar After Deal with Tesla
In afternoon trade, Ford shares were up 7.6 per cent to 12.25 USD. Tesla shares were up 7.5 per cent to 197.95 USD.
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg lauded the Ford-Tesla partnership. He did, however, state that the US administration would not impose an EV charging standard. Buttigieg stated that Tesla has established a remarkable network and that their participation in this effort is wonderful news.
Access to charging stations, according to analysts, is one of the major barriers to a wider acceptance of electric vehicles. Farley added that General Motors Co. and other automakers will face a difficult decision, the choice between Tesla’s EV chargers and the Combined Charging System (CCS). CCS is a charging-plug standard for DC fast charging that competes with Tesla’s Supercharger.
CSS vs. Supercharger
General Motors (GM) believes that open charging facilities, as well as standards, are the best way to accelerate EV adoption throughout the industry. In the CCS, GM collaborated with other car manufacturers to develop an open connector standard. According to the company, CCS is a truly universal solution for fast charging that is now accessible.
Tesla has been developing and deploying its own fast vehicle charger, known as Supercharger, since 2012. In just 15 minutes, a supercharger can add up to 322 miles (518 km) of driving distance.
Farley stated that Ford had approximately 10,000 fast chargers and that the agreement with Tesla will more than double that number.
