To stave off mounting customer dissatisfaction and slowing sales growth, automakers likely believe a quick fix is ​​to adapt to the existing vast, fast, and surprisingly reliable NACS-based Supercharger network, rather than waiting for the government-supported infrastructure to catch up at a snail’s pace. The problem is that there is no standard for where vehicle charging stations should be located. There never has been.

Tesla, for its part, has all of its charging ports on the left rear of the vehicle. Like other automakers moving to NACS, Rivian offers an adapter for its soon-to-be-discontinued CCS connector. In 2025, the R1 models will be directly NACS compatible, followed by the R2 in 2026. That’s not the only upcoming change. Rivian has also relocated the charging ports.

Green Car Reports says that during a recent demonstration of the upcoming R2 and R3X models at the Rivian Space in Pasadena, California, the port location was now on the left rear. When the vehicles were first unveiled, these ports were on the right rear. Official Rivian images highlight this, and all of them can still be found on the website. Rivian has previously said that the right rear is ideal for roadside charging as well as connecting to its own charging network.

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While it’s a nice touch, there are critics. For one, the new port location doesn’t help owners who tow a trailer, tow, or use equipment racks. And it’s a valid complaint considering the R1T and R1S have their charging ports on the left front of the vehicle. Public stations with pull-through chargers do exist, but they’re few and far between. Also, keep in mind that it’s not just tow-friendly vehicles like trucks and SUVs that are going electric, but RVs too.

Accordingly Gridservemost EVs have charging ports in the rear. The chicken dinner winner is the right side, which accounts for 37% of EVs, while the left side accounts for 28%. Although these figures are based on EV sales in the UK, they show a lack of consensus among EV manufacturers. Sometimes there is even no agreement internally. Kia EVs, for example, have charging ports in the rear right, front left, and front center. But this madness could be methodical, based on everything from the location of the vehicle’s electronics to the market in which they are sold to how the vehicle is used (like, er, towing).

I’m not sure we can call this an emerging industry at this point, but damn, the EV market still has a lot of growing pains to overcome. Plus, the industry needs to focus not only on the average 42-mile commuter from the suburbs, but also the business travelers, road trippers, van drivers, weekend drivers… you know, all if the goal is a future with only electric vehicles. Because let’s be honest: uncoupling a trailer just to connect it to a charging station is nonsense.