(Credit: Ford)
Ford may have been the first non-Tesla brand to get Supercharger access over a year ago, but its drivers still rely more heavily on other brands for charging.
As of February 2025, "about 20% of all charging on the BlueOval Charge Network is at a Tesla location," a company spokesperson tells us. The remaining 80% occurs at other brands in the network, such as Electrify America, ChargePoint, EVgo, and Blink.
Those stats don't include all Ford EV public charging, just within the BlueOval network, which is the "largest integrated charging network in North America," Ford says, with 180,000 chargers at more than 50,000 charging locations. It's free for drivers to sign up, and it allows them to start charging as soon as they plug in, with seamless payment across brands through the Ford app.
Despite the various EV charging options out there, Ford's move to embrace Tesla's charge port (which kicked off an industry-wide trend) prompted discussions about Superchargers becoming the de-facto national network. Tesla also marketed it that way by renaming its charge port the North American Charging Standard (NACS) in 2022, when it started courting other automakers.
Tesla's network has approximately 20,000 stations available to non-Teslas and a reputation for reliability. But it seems drivers are still opting for other brands. In February 2025, Ford hit its "all-time high for DC fast charging success rates on the BlueOval Charge Network, driven by reliability improvements across the networks," the company says.
Are Adapters Gathering Dust?
One reason Ford drivers might prefer other brands is that using Superchargers requires an adapter. Ford EVs have a CCS port, not the Tesla-backed NACS. The company will shift to NACS ports on upcoming EVs, making adapters unnecessary. But we don't have a firm timeline for that; it stuck with the CCS port on the revamped 2025 Ford Mustang Mach-E. (The 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 is the first to have a built-in NACS port.)
Still, the majority of Ford EV drivers have an adapter in their possession. Ford offered its customers a free adapter through a 2024 promo, and around 140,000 people signed up for it, Ford revealed today. By our math, that's about 70% of all Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning customers, based on sales data for both models, which showed a little over 200,000 EVs sold between their launch and August 2024.
Ford is "thrilled" at how many customers were interested, a spokesperson tells us. Although supply chain delays bogged down shipping timelines, everyone who signed up for an adapter now has one, Ford says.
For those who missed out, the automaker launched a new Ford-branded Lectron adapter, which is available to purchase for $200.
Another likely culprit for slower Supercharger uptake among Ford drivers is availability. People typically charge at nearby stations or along their travel routes. Not all Superchargers are open to non-Teslas; we found availability to be limited in big cities. And don't forget that 80-90% of EV charging occurs at home.
Avoiding a Tesla monopoly on EV charging could foster competition among brands, incentivizing them to increase availability. Relying on one brand to keep America charged up is also a shaky proposition, especially after Tesla CEO Elon Musk fired the entire Supercharger team amid other brands getting access. (He later rehired some of them; sound familiar?)
Many automakers are working on Supercharger alternatives by developing their own networks, such as Ford's BlueOval Charge Network and the Ionna network—a joint venture with BMW Group, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz Group, Stellantis, and Toyota.