Nissan electric vehicle drivers will soon have access to the Supercharger, with one big exception

• Nissan announced Wednesday that its latest electric vehicle will soon gain access to over 17,000 Tesla Superchargers.
• Unfortunately, the older Leaf is left out because it uses a effectively extinct CHAdeMO connector instead of the more common Combined Charging System connector.
• Ariya drivers will need a $235 adapter from Nissan, which is available to order now.

Nissan Ariya drivers will gain access to over 17,000 Tesla Superchargers next week, the automaker announced Tuesday. Unfortunately, the Nissan Leaf and its aging CHAdeMO connector will fall by the wayside as the automaker moves to support the North American Charging System (NACS) popularized by Tesla.

Ariya requires an adapter to charge on Tesla Superchargers, like all CCS (Combined Charging Standard) cars that can use the network. The adapter is priced at $235 and is available to order now through a Nissan dealer or Nissanusa.com (don’t ask for Nissan.com). The Supercharger network will open to Ariyas next Tuesday, December 10th. There are no plans to open it to Nissan Leafs.

I recommend you place your order quickly as adapter supply issues have hampered the rollout of Supercharger access by many automakers. While Ford and Rivian owners have been able to connect superchargers since spring, some are still waiting for adapters. Callbacks didn’t help. General Motors EVs gained access to America’s largest and most reliable network back in September, and the rollout appears to have gone a little more smoothly. I had no problems getting an adapter for my own Blazer EV.

There’s reason to be optimistic that Nissan will do even better. The Ariya just isn’t as popular, meaning owners have less competition for limited-supply adapters. Unlike Ford and Rivian, Nissan, like GM, also charges fees for its adapters. This prevents people from grabbing one on a whim and so I wouldn’t expect many delays.

But the entire rollout itself was delayed. Tesla laid off its Supercharger team back in the spring, and while some new hires were made, the restructuring slowed the rollout. The company produces most of the CCS-to-NACS adapters offered by other automakers, and GM had to bring in secondary suppliers to make sure they had enough. GM’s rollout was also scheduled to occur in the spring, but was delayed until full completion. The same applies to the market launch of Polestar and Volvo. Nissan is next, followed by Hyundai, Kia, VW, BMW, Mercedes and others.

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Many of these owners still don’t know when they can use Tesla Superchargers. But if you are a Nissan Ariya driver, your time has come. Starting next Tuesday, finding reliable charging will be a lot easier.

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