Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) has just announced it struck a major deal with Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), allowing Ford-produced electric vehicles to charge at Tesla Supercharger stations in the U.S. and Canada.
Ford's EV models fitted with the Combined Charging System (CCS) port, namely F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit, will get access to Tesla's V3 Superchargers, although the vehicles will require a Tesla-developed adapter to use the stations. Ford added that starting in 2025, it will begin to equip its cars with Tesla's NACS charging port, eliminating the need for an adapter to use Tesla-branded stations.
The agreement, set to go into effect in Spring of 2024, will provide buyers of Ford's electric models with access to over 12,000 of Tesla's charging points, more than doubling the company's current network of 10,000+ BlueOval Charge' fast-chargers.
"Widespread access to fast-charging is absolutely vital to our growth as an EV brand, and this breakthrough agreement comes as we are ramping up production of our popular Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning, and preparing to launch a series of next-generation EVs starting in 2025," said Ford's CEO and President Jim Farley, while Rebecca Tinucci, Tesla’s senior director of charging infrastructure added: "We’re excited to deliver on our mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy by welcoming Ford owners, and other electric vehicles who adopt NACS."
Ford, the grand-pioneer and the global household automobile brand, has been falling behind when it comes to electric vehicles. Last quarter the maker of world's best-selling gas-powered vehicle Ford F-150 has sold a total of 10,866 EVs - a drop in the ocean compared to Tesla's 422,000+ vehicles.
Nonetheless, the company remains committed to making inroads into the EV space, and intends to invest "more than $50 billion in electric vehicles globally through 2026 to develop breakthrough EVs."
Shares of Ford are gaining about 1% in the after-hours following the announcement.