The point of the table is that you should not have to read the page. Find your model, read the last column, order.
One fact is worth knowing before anything else: no BMW plug-in hybrid has a DC rapid charging socket. Not the 225xe, not the 330e, not the 530e, not the X models, not the i8. For every one of those cars the Type 2 lead is not an accessory you might use on occasion, it is the only route electricity ever takes into the battery.
What the third column means
British wiring sets the upper limit and no cable changes it. One phase at 32 amps is about 7.4 kW, and that is the most any charge point on a house can push. Where a car is listed below that figure the restriction lives in the car, and a larger lead will not shift it.
What actually separates one BMW from another
The i cars and the newest plug-in hybrids take 7.4 kW, which a 32 amp lead delivers in full. The older plug-in hybrids, the 225xe, the 740e, the i8 and the first X5 xDrive40e, are 3.7 kW cars and a 16 amp lead already covers everything they can draw.
Then there is the group that changed generation without changing name. The 330e, the X1 xDrive30e, the X3 xDrive30e and the X5 split across both figures depending on the year: the earlier cars are 3.7 kW, the current ones 7.4 kW and in the X5 xDrive50e case higher still on paper. Buying by badge rather than by year is how people end up with the wrong lead, which is why every model page here separates the generations explicitly.
BMW is unusually consistent on charge port position, and the rule is drivetrain based rather than model based: plug-in hybrids charge from the front nearside wing, battery electrics from the rear offside. It does not mirror for right hand drive, and BMW own UK press releases describe right hand drive cars as charging on the left.
Choosing a length
One practical note: cables route around a car rather than through it, so measure the path you would actually lay the lead along, not the straight line.
The front nearside socket on the plug-in hybrids is genuinely useful: nose into a bay with the charge point on the kerb side and five metres often reaches. The i cars charging from the rear offside are the opposite case and usually want ten.
How these cables are built
The cables themselves do not vary by car. Tinned copper conductors, IP67 sealed moulded ends, a jacket that does not go stiff in winter, two years of warranty, free next working day delivery.
No. No BMW plug-in hybrid of any generation has a DC socket, so a Type 2 cable is the only way to put charge into one.
Does my 330e take 3.7 kW or 7.4 kW?
It depends on the generation. The earlier cars are 3.7 kW and the current ones 7.4 kW. The same split applies to the X1, X3 and X5 plug-in hybrids, so check the year rather than the badge.
Where is the charge socket on a BMW?
Plug-in hybrids charge from the front nearside wing and battery electrics from the rear offside. The rule holds on right hand drive cars and does not mirror.
Is a 32A cable worth it on a 3.7 kW BMW?
It will not charge the car faster, but it is the more useful lead to own for a future car and it runs cooler under load. A 16A lead is all a 3.7 kW car can use.
What length do I need?
Five metres often does on a plug-in hybrid because the socket is at the front nearside. Ten metres is the safer answer for an i car charging from the rear offside.
