- Mercedes-Benz EV owners in the United States can use the Tesla Supercharger network starting today.
- An NACS to CCS1 charging adapter is needed.
- All compatible Supercharger stalls are integrated into the Mercedes-Benz smartphone app.
Mercedes-Benz is the latest non-Tesla automaker to gain access to the Tesla Supercharger network of electric vehicle DC fast chargers in North America. American owners of Mercedes-Benz EVs will be able to top-up their cars’ batteries at Superchargers in the United States and Canada starting today.
Previously, the German automaker said owners would get access in February, without providing a specific date. Today, however, Tesla updated its website to reflect the change.
To use the roughly 15,000 Tesla Supercharger stalls in North America that are open to non-Tesla EVs, Mercedes-Benz drivers will need an NACS to CCS1 charging adapter. The automaker is selling a Lectron-made unit at its dealerships for $185–getting it directly from Lectron costs $199.99.
The compatible Supercharger stalls have been added to the Mercedes-Benz smartphone app, so owners can simply plug into a charger without having to install another app or change settings in their cars–as long as there is a payment method set up in the app. The majority of Mercedes-Benz EVs have Plug & Charge functionality at Tesla Superchargers, meaning they can communicate with the stalls without the driver having to do anything, but some cars will need a software update to get the feature to work.
The automaker didn’t say which models are affected, but owners will get a call to schedule a service visit to have the software updated. Without Plug & Charge, Tesla Superchargers can still be used, but the charging session will need to be started and stopped via the smartphone app because Supercharger stalls don’t have displays or buttons.
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Mercedes-Benz
Besides Tesla Superchargers, Mercedes-Benz has integrated several other charging providers into its smartphone app, including Ionna, Electrified America, EVgo and ChargePoint. In total, over 110,000 public charging points across the United States and Canada are available for Mercedes-Benz EV drivers.
Later this year, the automaker will ditch the CCS1 charging port for its North American EVs in favor of the Tesla-designed NACS connector, making the use of an NACS to CCS1 adapter redundant. However, it will create the need for a different adapter–CCS1 to NACS. This will need to be used by NACS-equipped vehicles at chargers that only offer CCS1 cables.
