Do all electric cars use the same ‘universal’ chargers?

These are your options:

WALL SOCKETS

All EVs I know can be charged simply by plugging them into standard wall outlets – 110v, 220/240v. I believe that all EVs come with a cable that allows you to do this. Although the charge rate will be slow, it should provide 4 to 6 miles per hour of range on a single charge. However, that is enough for 99 percent of drivers who can charge overnight or who drive only 60 miles per day.

Many EVs can also be charged from standard 220v outlets such as those found in RV parks or campgrounds. There are a variety of pin configurations available for these outlets, so you may need an adapter for each one. You can either buy one of the adapters that Tesla sells or get a set of several.

TESLA:

Tesla’s SuperChargers can only charge Tesla cars. This is due to the connector they use and partly because Tesla HQ communicates with the charger and car to control the charge rate and have the cost of electricity charged to your Tesla account. Credit cards will not be accepted.

Tesla has offered to let other car companies charge at their SuperChargers, but so far, only “Aptera Motors”, a small startup, seems to have accepted the terms.

Apart from Tesla’s SuperChargers, there are also “Destination Chargers”, which are slower at 220v outlets. There are also adapters that other car models can use to charge from a Destination charger. This adapter is not available as a standard part, but they can be easily purchased online.

We then enter the rabbit-warren that is 3rd-party chargers. These can be divided into AC or DC chargers.

CHAdeMO:

The “CHAdeMO” chargers can only charge DC cars without a larger and more expensive converter. Tesla used to sell these chargers – but they were very expensive at $500 and are now “out of stock” on their website. CHAdeMO is very popular in Japan – many cars have a CHAdeMO port only in Japan.

J1772:

The J1772 chargers can be charged with any car (Chevrolet Volt or Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi i-MiEV and Mitsubishi PHEV), as well as the following: Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid (Electric and Plug-in Hybrid), Ford Focus EV (Electric and Plug-in Hybrid), Ford Fusion Energi (Electric and Plug-in Hybrid), Honda Clarity (Electric & Plug-in Hybrid), Kia Soul EV and Fiat 500e PHEV and Tesla’s) (with an adapter included in the car).

CCS:

CCS Standard combines a J1772 charging system with a DC charger. It supports Audi, BMW and Daimler as well as Ford, General Motors Hyundai, Porsche, Volvo and Volkswagen.

Newer Teslas in Europe come with a CCS port.

Many charging stations can be used to charge both CCS/J1772 or CHAdeMO using two cables.

ODD-BALL EXCEPTIONS:

This new method of car charging is being used in a handful of cities around the globe. They install car chargers at streetlight poles.

These schemes may require an interface box (the green thing in this image) to be able to pay your electricity bill. It seems to produce regular “Wall Socket”, so I would expect any car to be capable of charging there.

 

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