Mercedes electric cars have access to 20,000 Tesla Supercharging stations

Electric Mercedes drivers in the U.S. will have access to chargers starting in February, but while the company will switch to NACS ports on new cars, existing owners will need a $185 adapter

Mercedes drivers will have more options when charging their electric cars. Starting in February 2025, when they gain access to Tesla’s Supercharger network, the number of charging stations open to them will surge.

The option to charge at 20,000 Superchargers across North America, while still retaining Mercedes’ convenient plug-and-play functionality, brings the total number of Mercedes me charging points in the region to more than 110,000.

RELATED: Tesla hesitant to roll out Superchargers to other brands

But while Mercedes-Benz owners in the United States will be able to charge at a Supercharger station in just a few weeks, Canadian owners will have to wait until “later” in 2025. And neither set of owners can take advantage of Tesla’s partnership with Mercedes. Until they purchase some kind of hardware from a dealer.

Existing owners will need the $185 adapter – and visit the dealer

Like many other automakers, Mercedes has committed to equipping its new North American-market electric cars with Tesla-style NACS (North American Charging Standard) sockets by 2025. But anyone who already owns an EQ-badged Mercedes-Benz, or who’s buying one between now and the future, will need to pay $185 for a CCS-to-NACS adapter.

Granted, that’s not a huge number for the convenience it offers, especially if you’re a Mercedes owner, but companies like Ford and Hyundai will also adopt the same standard and make it free for existing EV owners Adapter provided.

Cars will also need a free software update (what, no OTA fix?) at their dealers to allow them to use the Supercharger network. But once completed, the charger will be included in the list of stations visible on the dashboard display and integrated into Mercedes’ Electric Smart Navigation feature, guiding the driver to the most suitable charging location.

“Magic Harbor” fast charge is scarce

Tesla first announced the plan in 2023 but was criticized for being slow to roll out Supercharger access to other brands. The automaker is offering these brands the opportunity to switch to NACS ports and says it will install “Magic Dock” chargers, allowing electric vehicles like Ford, General Motors or Hyundai to enjoy fast charging alongside Tesla models.

More: Tesla wants automakers to adopt its new 48V charging connector, like they did with NACS

But an investigation by Bloomberg Green found that by the end of 2024, only about 100 of Tesla’s approximately 2,500 Supercharging stations in the United States would be equipped with Magic Dock.

Audi, BMW, Fisker, Ford, Genesis, General Motors, Honda, Lucid, Mazda, Porsche, Volkswagen and others have committed to switching to the NACS port, and Hyundai’s facelifted Ioniq 5 already has it. Most brands are also developing or owning such adapters.