Types of connectors in electric vehicles

Today’s electric vehicles have different types of connectors as a power source. Learn how they work and how they are linked to charging methods.

There are different types of connectors for electric vehicles on the market today. This may lead to confusion when it comes to charging your vehicle, so we would like to explain each of them to you so that you can identify them and learn how they work.

Types of connectors:

These are conventional connectors, so they are recommended for use in small electric vehicles, such as small motorcycles, electric scooters or similar. It is not recommended for charging electric vehicles such as cars. Single-phase charging up to a maximum of 32 (A).

They are standardised for Asia and Europe. Therefore, they will be the connectors used to recharge electric cars.

These connectors are suitable for charging in single-phase and three-phase alternating current, enabling semi-fast charging, around 3h-5h. Power up to 22 kW – 32 (A) three-phase, and can even reach 43kW – 64 (A) three-phase.

They are used for the semi-fast charging mode.

Yazaki charger type.

Mennekes charger type.

It charges like connectors type 1 and 2 and also supports DC charging with the two pins located at the bottom of the connector. These Vdc charges enable reduced times, less than 1h, considered ultra fast.

It is an alternative to the COMBO connector (CCS) the difference being the pins.

The COMBO includes additional pins for single-phase AC charging.

The CHAdeMO connector is more prevalent in Asian markets, although it has also been seen in European areas. It only supports DC charging, and it is focused on ultra-fast charging.

However, in order for you to fully understand the types of connectors, you need to know about the charging methods as they are closely related.

In our next post we present the different charging methods, their powers and which connectors they are compatible with. Click here and do not miss it!

By Pedro José Aguera #IDEAteams