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Kia's timeline for Tesla Supercharger access has been pushed back from Jan. 15 to spring 2025.
"A delay has occurred and we are working with the appropriate teams to confirm new availability/date," James Bell, Head of Corporate Communications and Public Relations at Kia, tells PCMag via email.
This will be disappointing news for Kia drivers who are ready to try out the new stations. With Jan. 15 only one day away, some Kia owners took to Reddit today to question whether it would actually happen this week.
Bell did not divulge further details, but noted the company has updated a September press release on kiamedia.com, changing the date from "Jan. 15, 2025" to "Spring 2025." Another release, published on the same day via kianewscenter.com, still says Jan. 15. (Editors’ Note: After this story published, Kia updated the first press release again, changing "Spring 2025" to “first quarter of 2025,” which ends on March 31.)
Kia does not appear to have changed its adapter plans. It will provide free ones to those who got a new Kia EV 9 (2024 or 2025 model year) or Kia EV6 (2024) on or after Sept. 4, 2024. Drivers who received a Kia EV6, EV9, or Niro EV before Sept. 4 will need to purchase adapters from an authorized Kia dealer.
Adapters typically cost $200-$230, based on what we're seeing from other brands. Kia will presumably divulge availability dates for both the free and paid adapters as it works out its Supercharger access date.
Six other non-Tesla brands currently have Supercharger access: Ford, Rivian, General Motors (GM), Polestar, Volvo, and Nissan. Volkswagen access is expected in June.
The rollout has been messy. In May 2024, Tesla abruptly laid off the Supercharger team supporting the effort, though it hired some of them back, Bloomberg reports. But later that month, PCMag was the first to report delays in Supercharger access for GM and Polestar.
Adapter delays hampered the rollout for Ford and Rivian, which were first to get access in early 2024. Low supply left drivers waiting months in some cases to try the new stations. Those issues seem to have largely worked themselves out as manufacturers have scaled up. Plus, some EV drivers have turned to off-market adapters from brands such as Lectron and A2Z. They can be cheaper, without delivery delays, despite them not being "brand-approved" and tested.
Eventually, all EV brands will have access to Tesla Superchargers in the US, including Hyundai, which is owned by the same parent company as Kia. The rollout could be complete by the end of this summer or fall. But with shifting timelines, it may come down to the very end of the year for some brands. Still, more charging options are always a win for EV drivers, who can power up at home or other public stations in the meantime.