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

• Kia unveiled the facelifted 2025 mannequin of its EV6 crossover on Thursday. 
• The massive replace: The EV6 now comes geared up with a Tesla-style NACS charging port from the manufacturing unit. 
• Plus, Kia moved the charging port to the left aspect of the automobile, which ought to assist drivers extra simply entry Tesla Superchargers beginning subsequent 12 months. 

Kia will transfer the charging port on the 2025 EV6 crossover to the left aspect of the automobile from the suitable aspect, the model introduced on Thursday. If you happen to ask the Tesla house owners who will quickly share their beloved Supercharger stations with Kia drivers and lots of others, that is the suitable aspect 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. Because of 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 form. 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) does not assure the charging course of at these areas will simple or hiccup-free. Since Tesla started letting outsiders use its stations, it is develop 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 exhibits up with its port within the “fallacious” place, the proprietor cannot merely again into the suitable spot like a Mannequin Y or Mannequin 3 may. They could need to straddle two parking areas or park horizontally throughout them simply to get the twine to succeed in.

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

Photograph 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, nonetheless.) Kia did not explicitly point out the parking drawback in its press launch, solely saying that the brand new port and site 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 succeed in the cable and attempt to hinder as few cost posts as potential,” and exhibits how they need to accomplish that in a helpful illustration. 

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

This may occasionally solely be a short lived bug of the good NACS transition, although. Gasoline stations haven’t any drawback coping with automobiles which have their fuel caps on both aspect of the automobile. We’re beginning to see EV charging stations with that type 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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