If you're thinking about switching from petrol or diesel to an electric or plug-in hybrid model, they're becoming easier and easier to own. Prices are still higher than fossil fuel models, but more affordable electrified cars are now available to suit almost any budget, and used electric cars are a cost-effective solution as well.
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Living with an electric car is still unfamiliar for many drivers, and some aspects of electrified motoring will require a change of habits. You won't need to visit a filling station for a start, with most charging possible at home if you have off-street parking or a garage. For trips further afield, there's public charging to top-up on the go, but you'll need to learn a few new facts about charging cable and connector types.
Search used electric carsBuying a car on financeAs getting your head around the numerous types of electric car cables and connectors is no simple task, we&#;ve broken it down bit by bit. Read on to learn more about the different connector types and charging cables, what a tethered charger is and which type of cable the most popular electric cars use.
Thankfully, as electric car infrastructure is becoming more established, the idea of owning an electric car will become less daunting month by month. Within a few years, you can expect to see charging points become as common as fuel stations, so the stress of keeping an electric car charged up is likely to be eradicated.
Electric car charging cables aren&#;t as simple as you might hope. There are multiple types of plugs and connectors, as well as different modes of operation, but things are getting simpler.
Put simply, an electric car charging cable is made up of three parts: a connector, which plugs into your car, a length of wire and another plug that connects into a power source.
How BuyaCar worksThe EU realised standardisation was desperately needed back in , implementing legislation which stated that all new plug-in vehicles and charging points must include a 'Type 2' charging connector. Great, so all charging points are now Type 2 only, you may think. Nope.
In a race to charge batteries faster, several newer types of rapid charging plugs have been developed and are offered on new electric cars. These allow a greater amount of charge to be added in a set time, meaning that topping up the batteries is much less time consuming than it used to be.
To understand plug connectors you must first realise that power is a huge influencer. A traditional three-pin UK plug is limited in its ability to carry a high voltage safely over a long period of time, i.e. the exact conditions you need for charging an electric car.
When it comes to power (and therefore how long it will take to charge your car), electric car charging is typically broken down into three categories: slow, fast and rapid. Slow charging is generally the sort you&#;ll get from using a three-pin domestic plug. Fast chargers are slightly more powerful &#; often the sort you can have installed attached to your house or garage, and are common as public chargers too.
Rapid chargers are the most powerful and fastest type of EV charger available, which are only available at public charging stations. You can find out more about car chargers in our dedicated article. The most common electric car cable connectors are as follows.
Type 1 The Type 1 plug isn&#;t very common these days. It can be used for slow or fast charging, but isn&#;t suitable for rapid charging, so it&#;s not really suitable for charging the large-capacity batteries of the latest electric cars. It has featured on the original Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.
Type 2 The Type 2 connector is suitable for slow, fast and sometimes even rapid charging. Type 2 is now the European standard, so it is the most prevalent option on the market &#; everything from the Renault Zoe to the Tesla Model S features one.
CHAdeMO While its name may look like the effect of sneezing while typing, the CHAdeMO is actually quite a handy plug. It is most suited to rapid charging applications and is more commonly used by Asian car manufacturers - such as Nissan - although its incompatibility with Type 2 designs means that cars using it require an additional plug socket to have this on top of the legally required Type 2 plug.
CCS The CCS plug is similar in capabilities to the CHAdeMO in that it is well suited to rapid charging. However, unlike the CHAdeMO it builds on the Type 2 design &#; this is helpful as it means many models are able to accept Type 2 plugs and CCS plugs into the same socket. CCS connectors are most common on German car models like BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen, but they have also spread to other manufacturers that sell cars in Europe.
Some charging points will require a Commando plug - this describes the end furthest away from the car connecting the cable to the power supply. For example, you may need a Commando to Type 1 or a Commando to Type 2 cable.
These plugs need no introduction; they have been powering TVs, toasters and other less important equipment in the UK for decades. They are commonly found on the slowest car chargers and aren&#;t well suited to car charging for long periods, due to concerns around fire safety. You should never use one of these with an extension lead.
Modes of operation are a little different to plug/connector design, as they affect what charging power a vehicle can draw. There is no set standard for carmakers to follow, so it is up to them to decide which, if any, are included with the cars they sell. In total, there are four modes but motorists are only likely to encounter two of them.
Before moving on, it is important to note that electric cars come with their own onboard computers to manage the charging process, as do most charging points.
While covered in greater depth below, the mode of charging refers to a charging system&#;s (whether that be a cable, cable and wall-box or any other collection of equipment) intelligence when it comes to putting power into a battery pack. Some cables do nothing more than connecting a power source to a battery, while more advanced options will make sure just the right amount of voltage and current is reaching the battery.
Mode 1 is simple. You are merely connecting a car to the mains using a wire, with no method of controlling current/voltage drawn or utilising any extra safety features. Chances are motorists will never come across Mode 1 chargers.
Mode 2 cables build upon Mode 1 to provide more safety and control. They feature some inline circuitry to help communicate with the car and dictate how much current is being pumped into the battery pack - they normally connect your car to a traditional three-pin UK plug as well.
Mode 3 is when things start to get clever, allowing the car and charging point to talk to one another. This means electric cars can instruct the charging point to turn off the power when the battery is fully charged, and also allow the car to evaluate a charging point's capacity - changing the speed with which the car will be charged. Typically, these are wall-box type units.
Mode 4 is reserved for something called DC fast charging, most commonly known as rapid charging. These tap into beefier power supplies and through a combination of the electronics in the charging station and the electric car being charged, they can add extra charge to the car's battery at an impressive rate.
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A tethered electric car charging station provides the cable needed to charge your car &#; assuming of course it has a suitable connector. These are most commonly found at rapid charging points. In contrast, an untethered unit is one where you need to provide your own cable. Therefore, if you don't have the right cable with you, you won't be able to charge your car.
Make
Model
Connector Type(s)
Audi
e-tron
Type 2 and CCS
BMW
i3
Type 2 and CCS
Citroen
e-C4
Type 2 and CCS
Fiat
500
Type 2 and CCS
Ford
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Mustang Mach-E
Type 2 and CCS
Hyundai
Kona Electric
Type 2 and CCS
Jaguar
I Pace
Type 2 and CCS
Kia
e-Niro
Type 2 and CCS
MG
ZS EV
Type 2 and CCS
Nissan
Leaf
Type 2 and CHAdeMO
Peugeot
e-208
Type 2 and CCS
Polestar
2
Type 2 and CCS
Renault
Zoe
Type 2 (and CCS for 'Rapid Charge' models)
Tesla
Model 3
Type 2 and Tesla CCS
Tesla
Model S
Type 2 and Tesla CCS
Vauxhall
Corsa E
Type 2 and CCS
Volkswagen
ID.3
Type 2 and CCS
If there was one thing sure to infuriate drivers when charging their electric car, it would be cable theft, or someone unplugging your car. Fortunately, manufacturers recognise this and cables lock in place once plugged in and the car is locked &#; anyone telling you otherwise is scaremongering.
Many moons ago, topping up rechargeable home batteries involved the risk of overcharging your batteries. However, electric cars are a little more complicated. Their on-board circuitry is there to protect the complex electronics, making sure they don&#;t overcharge, and charge at an appropriate rate for the external conditions &#; batteries need to charge more slowly when they are cold, for instance. As a result, you shouldn't need to worry unduly about causing serious damage to your car by charging regularly.
Similarly, charging your car in the rain is also perfectly safe. All electric and plug-in hybrid cars are fitted with several layers of waterproofing and protection to ensure water cannot make its way into the electric components.
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