What happened
The electric vehicle (EV) industry in the U.S. is coalescing around a single charging standard, and stocks in the industry are continuing to benefit. Among them is EV pickup truck maker Rivian Automotive (RIVN 6.47%), which recently signed on to that standard. On Thursday, the company's shares closed more than 9% higher, while the S&P 500 posted just a 0.5% gain.
So what
The North American Charging Standard (NACS) developed by EV pace-setter Tesla (TSLA -3.48%) continues to gain strong momentum. On Thursday, Sweden-based EV specialist Polestar said it signed a deal with Tesla to adopt NACS. This will allow its vehicles' drivers -- along with those of Rivian and a clutch of other next-generation auto companies -- to plug in at charging stations in the Tesla Supercharger network throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Better, as far as widespread adoption of the standard is concerned, Polestar will equip all its models with NACS charging ports by default beginning in 2025.
The news surely gave Rivian investors a pleasant sense of deja vu. Earlier this month, the company announced that it was hopping on the NACS bandwagon. In doing so, it joined major automakers such as Ford and General Motors in adopting the standard.
Now what
Until only recently, NACS -- despite its relatively strong presence in the charging market -- was competing with the Combined Charging System (CCS) standard in this country. Last November, however, Tesla opened the NACS design specs for any manufacturer to use free of charge.
It was a clever move, and companies like Rivian were smart to take advantage of it. The North American market is moving quickly now toward a single EV charging standard, and the entire EV industry will be the better for it.
