South Korean automotive giant Kia is introducing significant innovations to make life easier for electric vehicle (EV) owners. The company announced both the Plug & Charge feature and the transition to the North American Charging Standard (NACS) to speed up and simplify the charging experience. Here are the details.

Kia Announces “Plug & Charge” Feature for Electric Vehicles

One of the biggest improvements Kia has offered to electric vehicle owners is the long-awaited Plug & Charge feature. This feature eliminates the need to pay at compatible charging stations.

As the name suggests, Plug & Charge automatically starts the charging session and processes the payment as soon as the vehicle is connected to the charging station. You no longer need to use your credit card or mobile app for every charging session.

The feature will be available for 2025 Kia EV6 models at the end of September. By the end of the year, 2026 EV9 owners will also be able to take advantage of this service. Kia is making a significant hardware change to make the charging experience even more inclusive. Starting with the 2025 EV6 and EV9 models, the company is switching to the North American Charging Standard (NACS) port on its electric vehicles.

Owners of compatible EV6 and EV9s will be able to activate this service through the Kia Connect services. Once activated, users simply plug their vehicle into a compatible station, such as Tesla Superchargers and Electrify America. The vehicle and charger will automatically recognize the ID and securely initiate the charging and payment process.

This move will give Kia EV owners direct access to more than 21,500 Tesla Supercharger stations across the United States, significantly expanding the charging network options for Kia customers.