Vauxhall EV Charging Cables

Which {M} cable you need, in one table

Read across from your model and the final column names the cable. The link takes you to the page for that car, which covers where the socket sits and how long a charge actually takes.

One car here is on the other connector. The Ampera is Type 1 with no rapid charging socket at all and needs a Type 2 to Type 1 lead. Everything else is Type 2.

The Ampera is Type 1, whatever the brochure seems to say

Settle it by eye if the paperwork does not. Five pins in a round housing is Type 1, seven pins with a flat upper edge is Type 2, and no product exists that converts one into the other.

A footnote in Vauxhall's own Ampera brochure mentions an "IEC 62196-2 Type 2 inlet", and it has misled a lot of owners. Read the whole sentence and that inlet belongs to the public charge station, which is why a Mode 3 accessory cable was needed at all. The accessories page in the same document says so outright. The car is Type 1, charges from the nearside front wing, and draws about 3.7 kW.

The number that decides the amp rating

Read the third column rather than the brochure. A domestic supply in this country is one phase, and a 32 amp charge point on it works out at roughly 7.4 kW. Anything quoted higher is counting phases you do not have; anything quoted lower is the car holding itself back.

What changes from model to model

A market quirk worth knowing: across mainland Europe these cars get a 7.4 kW single phase charger as standard with 11 kW three phase optional, while Vauxhall fits the 11 kW unit as standard on British cars. At a house the two are indistinguishable, both arriving at 7.4 kW.

The Vivaro-e is the exception, keeping a 7.4 kW single phase charger as standard, which suits a British depot better. The Grandland X plug-in hybrid is the one to watch: 3.7 kW as standard with a 7.4 kW upgrade that cost £500 new, and nothing on the badge says which you have. Charge from low on a 7 kW point and time it: two hours or four settles it.

Most of the range uses the nearside rear. The Astra Electric is the odd one out at the offside rear; the Vivaro-e and Ampera sit at the nearside front.

Which length to order

Before picking a length, find out where the socket is on your particular model, because a front socket and a rear socket on the same driveway can be four metres apart. Five metres suits a close charge point, ten covers most layouts, and the longer leads are for garage mounted units.

The Vivaro-e front socket is the commercially useful one: nosing a five metre van into a bay puts the inlet within a couple of metres of the wall box, where a rear socket needs twice the cable.

How these cables are built

The construction is common to the whole range, whatever your car: IP67 sealed connectors, tinned copper cores, a flexible outer jacket rated for British winters, a two year warranty and free next working day delivery.

The same platforms appear in the Peugeot range and the Citroen range.

Skip the model pages if you already know the connector: the Type 2 to Type 2 charging cable covers every Type 2 Vauxhall EV here, and the universal cables page has lengths from 5m to 20m.

Vauxhall charging cable questions

Is the Vauxhall Ampera Type 1 or Type 2?

Type 1, with no DC socket at all. The Type 2 reference in Vauxhall own brochure footnote describes the public charge station, not the car.

Does the 11 kW charger on a British Vauxhall help at home?

No. It is a three phase unit and a house has one phase, so the car takes about 7.4 kW. UK cars get it as standard where Europe charges extra for it.

How do I tell which charger my Grandland X plug-in hybrid has?

Nothing on the badge says. Charge from a low battery on a 7 kW point: roughly two hours means the optional 7.4 kW charger, roughly four means the standard 3.7 kW one.

Where is the charge socket on a Vivaro-e?

Nearside front three quarter panel by the front wheel, not at the rear. That shortens the cable run considerably if you park nose in.

Which Vauxhall charges from the offside?

The Astra Electric, which makes it the odd one out. The Corsa-e, Mokka-e, Frontera and Grandland X all charge from the nearside rear.