Electric vehicles are becoming popular among drivers, they all use Type 1 or Type 2 EV charging cables to connect and recharge the battery.
So what’s the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 EV charging cables for EVs? It’s pretty simple. The cable you buy to charge at home or carry with you to charge the battery from public charging stations will have a Type 1 or Type 2 plug on one end that fits with your EV’s connection. All charging cables come with a universal type 2 connection at the charger end, regardless of whether they are type 1 or type 2.
In Europe, the Type 2 inlet is the standard for charging cables while the Type 1 inlet is usually the standard for Asian, Japanese and American markets.
Type 1 plug is a 5-pin design and has a latch that keeps the plug in place and prevents it from being dislodged from the charger socket, while the Type 2 models, with 7-pin design don’t have these latches. Instead, the vehicles that use Type 2 plugs have a locking pin that locates and secures the plug in place.
It’s a very secure system, and only the EV or PHEV owner would be able to unplug the charging cable from the vehicle connector. Models that support Type 1 plug would not have a lock pin and so the charging cable can be unlocked by anyone.
Both Type 1 and Type 2 plugs have pins to transmit the power load and an earthing mechanism for safety.
In addition, Type 2 cables have resistors that communicate with the EV or PHEV, to ensure that the charging process runs smoothly. The vehicle ‘knows’ that it is plugged in, and other resistor functions maintain a uniform supply of power, detecting the strength of the cable to draw power accordingly. The resistors in the Type 1 cable detect whether the cable is plugged in will turn off the charger when the lever is pressed to unlatch the plug.
Also, Type 1 is a single-phase charging cable and Type 2 charging cables are available in single or three phase.
EVs currently on the market are fitted with these two different types of charging sockets and many of the newer vehicles coming to market, even from the Asian market, are now being supplied with Type 2 connectors.
Type 1 charging cable
These vehicles use Type 1 as standard:
Citroen C-Zero, Ford Focus Electric, Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, Kia Soul EV, Nissan Leaf 2012 – 2017, Peugeot (uses both types), Toyota Prius, Vauxhall.
Type 2 charging cable
Type 2 charging cables can be used with these cars:
Audi Etron, BMW i3, Hyundai, Jaguar, KIA, Ranger Rover, Renault, Mercedes Benz EQC, Mini Countryman, Nissan Leaf 2018, Porsche, Smart, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen, Volvo XC T8.
Type 2 charging cables are ideal for high-capacity EVs. And it’s wise to select a longer charging cable for EVs with charging sockets on one side of their body so that they’ll easily reach the charging point.
Kelylands provides a range of quality EV charging cables for Type 1 and Type 2 vehicles. The high performance cables are engineered to last, and are backed by the reassurance of a 2 year warranty. They’re thin and lightweight, enabling easy handling and connection, as well as being dust proof and waterproof to IP67 standard.
If you have an existing charger at your property with a tethered cable, but that cable isn’t long enough to reach your vehicle, most people incorrectly assume that a charging cable will work as some form of extension cable. It won’t, due to the vehicles requiring a data connection with the chargepoint. If you need an extension cable we can also supply them to you, just contact our sales team to find out more.
We also offer a convertor cable, so if you were an early adopter whose first vehicle was a Type 1, but your new vehicle is Type 2, and your charger has a type 1 connection, all is not lost. You don’t need to pay to get an electrician to swap the tethered cable for you. We offer a converter cable that will switch your tethered charger from Type 1 to Type 2.
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